PORTLAND, ME – Portland struck for the game’s first run for the third straight game, but on Wednesday the Trenton Thunder’s rally was enough to pull away from the Sea Dogs in a 5-1 win.
Thunder starting pitcher Danny Burawa made his first start of the season with Trenton after being transferred from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to Tuesday’s game. Over four innings, he allowed just one run on two hits while overpowering the Sea Dogs lineup with seven strikeouts. The lone blemish in the game for Burawa came on the first pitch in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Aneury Tavarez homered to right field.
Jaron Long entered the game and tossed five scoreless innings in relief to collect the victory as the Thunder offense was able to rally for the final five runs in the game.
In the top of the 4th inning, the Thunder had Mark Payton and Tony Renda on base with two outs when Billy Fleming came to bat. Already with a single under his belt, Fleming doubled to the right-center alley to score a pair of runs and give the Thunder their first lead of the series. The double for Fleming was his fourth in three games with the Thunder, and he has now reached base in 7-of-12 plate appearances (.583 OBP) with Trenton.
Taylor Dugas followed Fleming’s double with a double of his own to stretch the lead to 3-1. The score remained 3-1 until the 9th inning when the first three batters all reached for the Thunder off John Cornely to make it 5-1.
The victory for the Thunder helped them avoid a season-long six-game losing streak and improved their record to 52-45. With wins by Binghamton and losses by Reading and New Hampshire, the Thunder jump up to third place in the East Division, 1.5 games out of first place and 1.0 game out of the Wild Card.
The Trenton Thunder pile on the bus and head south back to ARM & HAMMER Park to battle the Binghamton Mets in the first of four games Thursday night. RHP Joel De La Cruz (1-2, 3.32) is expected to start for the Thunder against Mets RHP John Gant (4-4, 4.17). It is the first game of a seven-game homestand for the Thunder and is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. first pitch with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:40 p.m. on 91.3 FM and online at www.trentonthunder.com.
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