Justin Headley gets in the swing of things with four hits, including two homers.
PORTLAND – It was a night of unlikely occurrences at Hadlock Field Wednesday.
Justin Headley hit a home run, Kazuhito Tadano gave up an earned run and the Akron Aeros lost a series.
All three things were good for the Portland Sea Dogs.
Headley had four hits, including two homers, and drove in four runs as the Sea Dogs topped the Aeros 5-3.
The home runs were the first in a Sea Dogs’ uniform for Headley, who was hitting just .209 without an extra base hit since returning from Triple-A Pawtucket on June 13.
“(Hitting coach Mark Budaska) was telling me, ‘Hey, it’s good to have you back,'” said Headley. “I felt like I was dead weight for the team the last couple of weeks. It was a tough stretch.”
With the game tied at three in the bottom of the sixth, the Sea Dogs put runners on second and third with nobody out against Tadano.
Dustin Brisson flew out to shallow left field and Jeremy Owens struck out before Jim Goelz reached on a bunt base hit, with the runners holding.
Headley then lined an 0-2 pitch into center field to score Sean McGowan and Tony Schrager, who had opened the inning with singles.
“I don’t think he got the fastball in as much as he wanted to,” said Headley.
After a two-out walk by James Johnson in the top of the ninth, Tyler Minges made a bid to tie the game.
But Owens caught the ball up against the wall in center field to give the Sea Dogs the rubber game of the three-game set.
“You take two out of three from Akron and split with them for the season (3-3), it’s very nice,” said Portland manager Ron Johnson, whose team sits at 41-30 and has a 4 1/2 game lead in the Eastern League’s Northern Division at the season’s midway point.
Headley homered just inside the right field foul pole in the bottom of the first to put the Sea Dogs on top.
The Aeros threatened in the top of the third against Josh Stevens, but had two runners thrown out at home plate while coming up empty.
Brian Luderer and Minges opened the inning with back-to-back singles.
Alex Requena then grounded a base hit into right field that Justin Sherrod charged before firing a one-hop throw to cut down Luderer on a close play.
The call prompted a brief argument from Luderer and Komminsk.
After a shallow fly out with runners at the corners, Akron ran itself out of the inning.
Requena stole second base and when the throw glanced off the glove of the second baseman Schrager, Minges tried to score from third.
Goelz alertly picked up the ball and fired a strike to catcher Kelly Shoppach to easily get Minges.
Shoppach’s two-out single in the bottom of the inning made it 2-0.
Grady Sizemore doubled with one out in the top of the fourth and scored on Ryan Church’s base hit to put the Aeros on the board.
Akron took the lead an inning later on Joe Inglett’s RBI double and a ground out.
But Headley got that right back with a blast over the Sea Dogs’ bullpen leading off the bottom of the fifth against Tadano.
It was the first earned run the Japanese right-hander had given up this season in 29 innings.
Stevens (8-4) got his first win since June 2 after allowing nine hits over seven innings.
League-leading Akron (50-30), which won two out of three against Portland at its home park earlier in the month, dropped just the second of its last 18 series.
“You always gauge yourself against the best teams in the league,” said Headley. “It was good to come out and win the series, especially after losing the first game.”
Sea Dogs notes: Outfielder Gabe Kapler, who signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday, will join the Sea Dogs for Friday night’s doubleheader against Altoona. Kapler has posted a .270 batting average in six big-league seasons with Detroit, Texas, and Colorado. He was released by the Rockies on June 19. Kapler will play for short-season Lowell tonight and could join the Red Sox as early as Saturday….Headley hit one home run with Pawtucket….Johnson, who recorded his third save, extended his scoreless innings string to 16 1/3… Today is an off day for the Sea Dogs. Eric Glaser (3-2, 4.00 ERA) will be oppose Altoona’s Tom Fordham (1-0, 1.52) in the first game of Friday’s twin bill. Felix Villegas (1-7, 6.04) will start the nightcap for Portland against a pitcher to be determined. The games can be seen on Channel 8 (WMTW) beginning at 6 p.m.
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