PORTLAND, Maine — Wendell Rijo hit a double that nicked off Roman Quinn’s glove in the left-center field gap to score two runs with two outs and the Portland Sea Dogs walked off with a 7-6 win over the Reading Fightin Phils in 10 innings in the rubber match of an Eastern League baseball series Sunday at Hadlock Field.
Rijo’s double scored Ali Solis and Henry Ramos, who had singled with two outs in the 10th off of Jeremy Bleich (L, 0-1).
With Portland down 5-3 in the ninth, Ramos led off the inning with a swinging strikeout, but ended up reaching second base on a wild pitch. Rijo then grounded to short, but Angelo Mora committed a throwing error to allow Ramos to score and Rijo to reach second base.
After Rijo moved to third on a fly-out, he scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Weems.
The Sea Dogs scored three unearned runs in the first off Reading starter Ricardo Pinto. Rijo scored from second on an error by Rhys Hoskins that allowed Aneury Tavarez to reach base. Later in the inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Jordan Betts hit a two-run single to put the Sea Dogs ahead 3-1.
Pinto shut the Sea Dogs down from that point on, allowing just the three unearned runs on six hits in six innings, walking three and striking out two.
Portland’s Kevin McAvoy allowed four earned runs on five hits in 3 ⅓ innings, walking four and striking out one. Mitch Atkins and Nik Turley combined to pitch six innings in relief, allowing just two runs on five combined hits. Simon Mercedes (W, 1-2), earned his first victory of 2016 by striking out both batters he faced after entering the game with the bases loaded in the 10th.