PORTLAND – It was a recipe for disaster.

The Portland Sea Dogs fell behind 8-0 after three and a half innings while having to face the pitching staff with the best earned run average in the Eastern League.

The result was predictable as the Altoona Curve took the rubber game of a three-game set by pounding the Sea Dogs 12-6 at sold-out Hadlock Field Sunday afternoon.

The Sea Dogs did manage to put a dent in the armor of the Curve’s Sean Burnett, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top pitching prospects, scoring four runs, all on sacrifice flies.

But the hole was simply too deep to dig out of.

“You give credit where credit is due,” said Portland manager Ron Johnson. “They came in here and spanked us. But we helped them a little bit.”

The Sea Dogs committed three errors, two of which came during Altoona’s five-run first.

Chan Perry had two home runs and drove in four runs for the Curve.

The veteran of 928 minor league games also had a single, double and scored four times.

“It’s a hitter friendly park,” said Perry, who spent three seasons in the Eastern League with Akron, hitting 20 home runs for the Aeros during the 1997 season. “It’s a park that, especially now with the Monster, if you can get a pitch up and get it up in the air, a lot of good things can happen.”

Portland starter Tim Kester was tagged for 10 hits and eight runs (five earned) in five innings.

It was the right-hander’s shortest outing since April 16.

“I didn’t have good command of my fastball and none of my other pitches were that good either,” said Kester. “It was just one of those days.”

Things started out innocently enough for Kester, who retired the first two batters of the game.

Jose Castillo then doubled and scored on Perry’s drive into the right field corner.

After a single, double and a pair of errors, the Sea Dogs suddenly found themselves staring at a five-run deficit.

Perry added to the lead with a two-run home run in the second and a solo shot in the fourth.

“I got into those as well as I’ve hit two balls all year long,” said Perry. “Hopefully, it’ll continue.”

The Sea Dogs scored twice in both the fourth and sixth against Burnett (9-3), who hadn’t given up more than three runs in a game this season.

Tony Schrager had two RBIs, both coming on sacrifice flies.

Burnett, a first round draft pick (19th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000, gave up five hits, walked three and struck out one in six innings.

His ERA rose to 2.21, which is second best in the league.

Reliever Juan Perez surrendered four runs over two innings, with the Curve’s Cam Bonifay connecting for a two-run home run in the eighth.

Dustin Brisson had a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth for the Sea Dogs, whose lead in the Eastern League’s Northern Division fell to 3 games over New Haven, which rallied to beat Reading 7-6.

“We’ve built our season so far on pitching and defense and one goes hand in hand with the other,” said Johnson. “You look at the last two games, we scored six runs and six runs. Those are our games to win. We don’t lose games like that.”

bfoley@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link