PORTLAND (AP) – Chris Durbin and Brandon Moss knocked homers and Jeremy West drove in two runs as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Akron Aeros 6-4 Tuesday in the first game of the Eastern League Championship Series.

Ryan Mulhern had a two-run homer as the Aeros grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Sea Dogs replied with one on Durbin homer in Portland’s first.

After singles by Shaun Larkin and Ivan Ochoa keyed an Akron run in the second, Portland made it 3-2 on Moss’ homer in the second and tied it on West’s RBI triple in the third.

The Sea Dogs took the lead for good in the fifth, scoring twice on three singles and an error, then Scott Youngbauer’s RBI double made it 6-3 in the sixth.

Nathan Panther doubled and scored for Akron in the eighth.

Jon Lester (1-0) allowed three runs, one of them earned, on three hits through two innings and finished his start by retiring 13 of 15 batters before leaving in the sixth.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series will be played Wednesday in Portland’s Hadlock Field.

. After that, the series moves to Akron’s Canal Park.

AP-ES-09-13-05 2112EDT


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