Somerset Patriots Series Recap Vs Portland Sea Dogs 6/15 - 6/21

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The Somerset Patriots did not lose the first half in Portland, but it was there that the door finally shut.

That is probably the fairest way to put it.

Somerset entered the final week of the first half still alive in the Eastern League Northeast Division race, chasing Hartford and needing just about everything to go right. Instead, the Patriots ran into the kind of week that has defined both the frustration and the promise of this team: close games, late drama, loud swings, big strikeouts, and just enough missed chances to make the difference.

The Patriots dropped four of six to the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field, finishing the first half at 37-32. That was still good for the second-best record in the division and the third-best

first-half record in the Eastern League at the end of Sunday’s game, but it was not enough to catch Hartford.

And honestly, that is what makes the week sting a little more.

This was not a team that faded quietly. Somerset was right there. The Patriots had enough offense, enough power, and enough late-inning fight to make this thing interesting until the final few days. But in a race this tight, the one-run losses pile up fast. Somerset lost three games in Portland by one run, including two walk-offs, and that was basically the story of the week.

A Series That Slipped Away

The series opened in brutal fashion Tuesday night with a 7-6 walk-off loss. Somerset had the big blow, too. Connor McGinnis launched his first career Double-A home run, a grand slam in the third inning, and drove in a career-high five runs. The Patriots had the kind of swing that usually wins a game.

Instead, Portland tied it in the ninth and walked it off.

That one hurt.

Somerset answered Wednesday with one of its best wins of the first half, rallying for a 5-4 victory in 10 innings. Garrett Martin homered off rehabbing big leaguer Patrick Sandoval, Xavier Rivas threw 5.2 no-hit innings, and the Patriots somehow found a way to score three runs with two outs and nobody on in the ninth. That was the version of Somerset that made this first-half race feel real.

Then came Thursday, another 7-6 loss. Coby Morales made it interesting with a three-run homer in the ninth, but the comeback came up a run short. At that point, Somerset was still mathematically alive, but the path was getting thinner by the day.

Friday made it official. Portland beat Somerset 6-2, eliminating the Patriots from the first-half title chase. Garrett Martin homered again, his 21st of the season, but the offense could not turn that into enough traffic. Chase Hampton worked five innings for the first time since August 2023, which mattered from a development standpoint, but the result was the result.

Saturday was another gut punch. Somerset had 13 hits, got homers from Jace Avina and DJ Gladney, and still lost 7-6 on another walk-off. That loss clinched the series for Portland and snapped Somerset’s streak of seven straight series without dropping one.

By Sunday, the first-half race was already over, but the Patriots still showed some pride. They beat Portland 6-4 behind a go-ahead two-run homer from Connor McGinnis in the eighth and a dominant two-inning save from Trent Sellers, who struck out six straight batters to end it.

That matters.

Not enough to change the standings, obviously, but enough to say this team did not just pack it in.

Close, But Not Enough

The final standings will show Hartford on top and Somerset 2.5 games back. That is the clean version.

The messier version is that Somerset gave itself a real shot, only to watch a few too many winnable games slip away.

The Patriots played 10 games decided by three runs or fewer over their final 11 games of the first half. That is a ridiculous stretch. It is also exhausting. Every mistake gets magnified. Every bullpen inning feels heavier. Every missed chance with runners on base starts to feel like it might decide the entire half.

That is where Somerset got burned.

The offense was not the issue in Portland. The Patriots scored six runs four different times in the series. They had double-digit hits in back-to-back games to end the week. They kept hitting for power, kept extending their franchise-record extra-base hit streak, and kept looking like one of the most dangerous lineups in Double-A.

But when you lose 7-6 three times in a six-game series, the conversation becomes pretty simple.

You were good enough to win the series. You just did not finish enough games.

That is the difference between clinching the first half and chasing the second half.

The Power Identity

Even with the disappointment of falling short, Somerset’s power numbers remain absurd.

By the end of Sunday’s finale, the Patriots had hit 109 home runs through 69 games, the most by any Double-A team through that point in the Research Tool Era. They also extended their franchise-record extra-base hit streak to 69 straight games, the longest active streak in Minor League Baseball.

That is not a hot streak anymore. That is the identity of this team.

Jace Avina looks like he is right back to being one of the most dangerous hitters in the Eastern League. He had three hits and two RBI in Sunday’s win, homered Saturday, and has reached base in 33 of his last 34 games. His OPS has climbed all the way to .971 after sitting at .629 earlier in the year. That is not just an improvement, it’s a complete flip.

DJ Gladney stayed hot too, hitting his 13th homer of the season Saturday and

continuing to drive the baseball with real impact. Coby Morales added another big swing Thursday with his 12th homer, and he continues to sit near the top of the league in RBI.

Then there is McGinnis, who had a week he will probably remember for a long time. First career Double-A homer on Tuesday. Go-ahead homer in the eighth inning Sunday. That is a pretty good way to make your presence felt.

Garrett Martin Earned His Promotion

The biggest individual story of the week was Garrett Martin, and it was not close.

Martin was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 20, and frankly, there was nothing left for him to prove in Double-A.

He left Somerset hitting .270/.344/.568 with 21 home runs, 54 RBI, 14 doubles, 47 runs, and 17 stolen bases. The home runs led the Eastern League and the Yankees' farm system. The RBI did too. He also had the most home runs by a Somerset player through the first 67 games of a season in affiliated franchise history.

That is a monster first half.

What made Martin's run so impressive was not just the power, either. It was the way he kept showing up in big spots. He homered Wednesday in Somerset's comeback win, doubled in the ninth to tie the game, then homered Friday again in the loss. At the time of his promotion, he was on a six-game hit streak and had multiple hits in four of his final give games with Somerset.

That is how you force the issue.

For Somerset, losing Martin is obviously a big deal. You do not just replace 21 homers and 54 RBI overnight. But this is also the whole point of Double-A. When a player dominates the level like that, he is supposed to move. Martin earned the next challenge, and Somerset fans got to watch one of the best first-half power displays in the franchise’s affiliated era.

That is worth appreciating, even if the timing is rough.

Second Half Starts With A Clear Message

The first half ended with mixed emotions.

Somerset did not win the division. That is the bottom line. Hartford did, and the Yard Goats earned it. But the Patriots also proved they are absolutely good enough to be in the postseason conversation again.

The have power all over the lineup. They have arms that miss bats. They have players like Avina, Gladney, Morales, and McGinnis capable of carrying streches. They just need to clean up the late-game execution an dturn some of these one-run loses into wins.

That is the next step.

The good news is that the second half gives Somerset a reset. The bad news is that the margin is not going to get any easier. Promotions are part of the deal. Martin is gone. More movement could come. The roster will keep changing.

But the standard should not.

This team was close in the first half. Close enough to make it hurt. Close enough to know the opportunity was real.

Now the challenge is making sure the second half does not end with the same feeling.

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