Bowie’s Matt Riley retires 15 of the final 16 Portland batters that he faced in a 9-4 win.
PORTLAND – Matt Riley isn’t exactly known for his calm demeanor out on the mound.
So when the Bowie Baysox did their best imitation of the Keystone Cops and allowed Tonayne Brown to circle the bases on a single to center in the bottom of the second inning, it would have been no surprise to see Riley self-destruct.
Instead, the volatile left-hander retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced, allowing Bowie to rally and come away with a 9-4 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs at sold-out Hadlock Field Tuesday night.
“The way he is, I’m surprised he took it like he did,” Bowie catcher Eli Whiteside said of Riley, who was the top-rated prospect in the Baltimore Orioles’ system in both 1999 and 2000, but missed the entire 2001 season after having Tommy John surgery.
Jeremy Owens’ bunt single, which came on a 1-2 count, was the only hit Riley gave up after the second inning.
Trailing 3-1, the Baysox scored three times in the top of the fourth against Tim Kester (2-3) to take the lead for good.
With runners on second and third, Whiteside doubled into the right-field corner to tie the game.
One out later, Tim Raines Jr. singled back through the box to score Whiteside as Kester kicked the dirt on the mound.
“I was hoping it would hit me and we would get an out,” said Kester.
The 31-year-old right-hander took things into his own hands in the fifth, striking out the side on nine pitches.
“Was it nine straight pitches?” Kester asked. “I’ve never done that before.
Bowie scored five times against reliever Charlie Weatherby in the seventh to break the game open.
Keith Reid capped off the onslaught with a three-run home run to right-center field.
The nine runs were Bowie’s biggest offensive out of the season.
“Bad hitting is contagious just like good hitting,” said Whiteside, whose double started the inning. “We really needed something like this. Hopefully, it will carry over.”
Kris Wilken’s home run with two outs in the top of the first gave the Baysox a 1-0 lead.
Dustin Brisson singled to lead off the second inning for the Sea Dogs.
It was Brisson’s first game since he suffered a high ankle sprain on April 18.
Kevin Haverbusch doubled to put runners at second and third and bring up Brown, who singled to center field.
Seeing that the throw to the plate was too high for the cut-off man to reach, Brown kept on going to second.
Whiteside’s throw bounded into center field, where it was booted by Raines Jr. for another error as Portland manager Ron Johnson waved home Brown.
“Sometimes with (Johnson), he doesn’t really look,” Brown joked. “The ball can be half-way to the catcher but he’ll be waving you in. Once I hit third base, I knew I had to keep going. As soon as I hit home plate, I was out of gas.”
Sea Dogs notes: Catcher/first baseman Andy Dominique has been promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, where he was the designated hitter and went one-for-four with an RBI Tuesday night. Dominique was third in the Eastern League with a .361 average. He takes the roster spot of Frank Charles, who was released by the Red Sox. Josh Stevens (5-1, 2.74 ERA) opposes Bowie’s Dave Borkowski (0-1, 2.37) tonight at 6 p.m.
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