Sea Dogs drop Fisher Cats

MANCHESTER — Christian Williams went 3-for-4 with a home run but the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) dropped a 6-3 decision to the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) on the Fourth of July at Delta Dental Stadium. It was New Hampshire’s first loss against Portland in five Independence Day meetings.

BOX SCORE

Williams singled in his first two at bats, and led off the ninth inning with a home run to trim a 6-2 deficit to 6-3. He finished with half of the Fisher Cats’ (5-12) six hits.

The Fisher Cats scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the third inning. Vinny Capra , Forrest Wall  and Santiago Espinal  drew walks to load the bases, and Josh Palacios  singled in Capra for a 1-0 lead.

Portland responded with a pair of two-run homers in the top of the fourth inning by Bobby Dalbec and Luke Tendler. For Dalbec, the top-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system (Baseball America), it was his league-leading 19th home run and followed a single by C. J. Chatham. Brett Netzer had singled ahead of Tendler’s homer off losing pitcher Zach Logue  (L, 3-6).

New Hampshire made it 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Riley Adams doubled, Williams singled, and Alberto Mineo  hit a sacrifice fly.

The Sea Dogs (8-8) extended the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Dalbec walked but was erased on a fielder’s choice by Tate Matheny. Matheny stole second and Netzer doubled for one run. Luke Tendler followed with a double to put Portland up 6-2.

Portland starter Kutter Crawford (W, 1-1) earned his first win, allowing two runs in six innings with nine strikeouts. Eduard Bazardo tossed two scoreless frames in relief.

William Ouellette  and Danny Young  provided strong relief for New Hampshire, combining to shut out Portland over the final three innings.