Portland Sea Dogs slide costs them first half division championship
The Somerset Patriots are the 2023 first-half champions of the Eastern League. The New York Yankees affiliate took advantage of a slowing Sea Dogs, officially clinching the division with a win on Friday night. Going into play on Friday, the Sea Dogs were still alive to win it, though they needed to not just win out over the weekend, but the Patriots to lose out.
The first half of the season comes to an official close with the completion of Sunday’s games. Winning the division in either half of the season ensures a team's spot in the playoffs. If the team that wins the division in the first half goes on to win it in the second half, the playoff spot is granted to whichever team comes in 2nd place.
Going back to the Sea Dogs series in Somerset against the Patriots on May 30th, they won just 11 of their final 24 games. A skid like that, going under .500 in the home stretch of your season, can be costly to a team with hopes to finish on top. In that same stretch, the Patriots were able to win 17 of their final 24 games played.
While the Sea Dogs added Marcelo Mayer, Nathan Hickey, Chase Meidroth, and an abundance of pitching, they may be losing some key cogs at some point. How much longer will Nick Yorke or Luis Guerrero be in AA? Moves like those will definitely damper the Sea Dogs’ playoff chances, though the focus is obviously the development of the players.
After a couple of days off, the Sea Dogs will travel to New Hampshire to take on the Fisher Cats on Wednesday. By the start of play, all teams in the Eastern League will have a 0-0 record.
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