NEW BRITAIN, Connecticut — The Portland Sea Dogs scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back, beating the New Britain Rock Cats 9-4 on Saturday night at New Britain Stadium.
Portland has won two straight and seeks the series win on Sunday.
The two teams combined for seven runs in the first inning. Portland had six straight hits to start the game and took a 5-0 lead. Carlos Asuaje and Oscar Tejeda had RBI doubles. Jantzen Witte nailed a run-scoring triple; Tim Roberson and Blake Tekotte had RBI singles.
Witte went 3-for-5, finishing a double shy for the cycle, knocking in three runs with his third homer of the season and an RBI single. Portland had an RBI from seven of nine starters and a hit from all nine.
William Cuevas (5-1) tossed five innings on four hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts to earn the win for Portland. Ryan Carpenter (3-3) surrendered 12 hits on eight runs over 2 ⅓ innings to take the loss for New Britain.
One night after hitting for the cycle, Roberson went 4-for-5 with an RBI single and is 8-for-11 in the series. Tekotte had three hits and his 13th RBI of the season.
Kyle Kraus worked four innings, giving up a two-run homer to Tom Murphy, but earned his first Double-A save. Asuaje extended his on-base streak to 25 straight games.