The Portland Sea Dogs would finish their first half of the season with a 7-3 loss to the Reading Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field in Portland.
Portland (40-29) finished 2.5 games behind Somerset (NY Yankees) for the top spot in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League (Double A). The Patriots with the first half win now automatically qualify for the playoffs at the end the season. The Sea Dogs scored their three runs on Sunday on an error and a two-run homerun by Phillip Sikes. Chih-Jung Liu (4-6) took the loss on the mound allowing four runs on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Portland begins the second half of their 2023 season on Wednesday night beginning a six game series in New Hampshire against the Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays).
The Boston Red Sox dropped the rubber game of their three game series to the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Boston (40-39) scored first to go up 1-0 on an RBI double by Adam Duvall in the third inning. Chicago took the lead for good when Luis Robert hit a two-run homerun off Kutter Crawford in the fourth. Andrew Benintendi drove in another with a double in the fifth inning, and Robert went deep for a second time as his solo shot in the sixth ended the scoring.
Duvall had a pair of doubles and the lone RBI in the loss for Boston, who went 3-4 on their seven game road trip. Crawford (2-4) suffered the defeat on the hill as he gave up four runs on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings. In a bullpen game for Chicago, Jesse Scholtens (1-2) picked up the win. Kenyan Middleton got his second save. Robert had three hits and Benintendi had two for the 34-45 White Sox. The Red Sox will return home and open a three game interleague set with the Miami Marlins at Fenway on Tuesday night. Right-hander Garrett Whitlock (4-2, 4.50 ERA) gets the ball in game one, to be opposed by Marlins righty Sandy Alcantara (2-6, 5.08) at 7:10 p.m. Miami is in second place in the National League East at 45-34, and have gone 8-3 in their past 11 games.
Story by Chris Lessner
