Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 4/16/11

1:05pm
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Joel Carreno 0-1, 9.45)
vs. Binghamton Mets (Robert Carson 0-1, 0.00)

6:05pm
Buffalo Bisons (N/A)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Brandon Duckworth 1-0, 0.00)

6:35pm
Portland Sea Dogs (Stephen Fife 1-0, 0.00)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Liam Hendriks 0-0, 0.00)

Game of the Day – Sea Dogs vs. Rock Cats – We are staying in New Britain for the GotD after an exciting ball game yesterday that was decided in the bottom of the ninth when the Rock Cats Steve Singleton singled in Yangervis Solarte for the 2-1 win, after being down 1-0 going into the 8th inning. The Cats (7-2) are now in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, having won 6 straight games. Their longest win streak in 2010 was only 4 games. Liam Hendriks gets his second start of the season after only logging one inning in his first action due to weather conditions. The righty from “down under” has whiffed four batters in 2.2 innings of work (he made a relief appearance as well) and he hopes to keep the Sea Dogs bats dormant while the Rock Cats keep rolling. Portland starter Stephen Fife had a great first outing last Sunday, shutting down the Reading Phillies over five scoreless innings of work, but the Dogs have lost 3 of their last 4, scoring only 5 runs in said loses. Alex Hassan (.467 avg., 8 game hit streak) and Will Middlebrooks (.367 avg., 2 HRs) have led the Portland offense so far this year, but the team home run total of 3 could use a boost. It’s Dogs and Cats once again, under the lights of New Britain Stadium, for game three of their four-game set.