With a four-hit performance from Jackson Holliday, which included his second Double-A home run, the Bowie Baysox powered past the Portland Sea Dogs by a 9-4 final on Saturday night.
The excitement really took off in the top of the third, when Major League rehabber Cedric Mullins chased a ball to the wall in straightaway center field and leapt into the wall to pull back a potential home run from Portland’s Alex Binelas. A bases loaded walk to Joseph Rosa in the bottom of the third gave Bowie an early 1-0 lead. That edge was quickly canceled out on a solo home run by Nick Yorke in the top of the fourth, the only run allowed by right-hander Tyler Wells through 3.1 innings in his first start with the Baysox. Right-hander Tyler Burch relieved Wells in the fourth, and did load the bases with a pair of walks, but navigated the situation without allowing further damage.
In the bottom half of the fourth, momentum swung back in Bowie’s favor. First, Jacob Teter clobbered his first home run at the Double-A level to give Bowie a 2-1 lead. Holliday followed up with his blast to right-center, making it a 3-1 game. Portland would retake the lead in the top of the fifth on a three-run home run from Blaze Jordan, part of a three-hit inning against right-hander Carlos Tavera. However, both Tavera and the Bowie bats would show resolve once again.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, a walk and hit by pitch put two runners on against Portland right-hander Ryan Miller (L, 4-3). The Baysox would strike for back-to-back knocks, with a Ramon Rodriguez single tying the game, before Anthony Servideo’s double plated another run to give Bowie a 5-4 advantage. Tavera (W, 3-6), meanwhile, tiptoed around three walks the remainder of the night, allowing just the three runs on the Jordan long-ball in his three innings of work, striking out four.
The Baysox would tack on a couple more times on the night. Bowie loaded the bases in the sixth, scratching across one run on a Joseph Rosa sacrifice fly, before three additional runs in the seventh. First, Teter roped a double down the right field line, plating Servideo who led off the frame with a single. Teter came home on an infield knock for Holliday on the shortstop’s fourth knock of the night. Mullins also singled in the frame, crossing home on a Billy Cook sacrifice fly. Right-hander Xavier Moore kept the Sea Dogs off the board in the final two innings, helping Bowie close out the series win.
The victory clinches the third-consecutive series at home for the Baysox, who now sit at 48-53 on the season. Bowie will look to end the six-game series with Portland on a high note Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. ET from Prince George’s Stadium.
