Somerset Patriots Series Recap Vs Portland Seadogs 4/28-5/3

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After a rough week in Richmond, Somerset came home and finally started to look like the club it has been hinting at becoming.

The Patriots took five of seven from the Portland Sea Dogs at TD Bank Ballpark, secured their first series win of the season, won three straight games for the first time this year, and spent much of the week reminding everyone just how much damage this lineup can do when the ball starts carrying.

Sunday’s finale took some of the shine off the week, but not enough to change the story of the series. Portland won 11-4, pulling away with a four-run eighth inning after steadily building separation throughout the afternoon. Somerset managed six hits and committed one error, while the Sea Dogs turned 10 hits into 11 runs. Tyler Hardman went deep again, Jackson Castillo added an RBI single, and the Patriots pushed across a few late runs, but the game never really tilted back in their direction.

Even so, one flat finish does not undo the larger takeaway: for the first time this season,

Somerset put together a full week that looked like progress.

The Patriots finished the week with a 5-2 series win and outscored Portland 57-28, but the

bigger point was how they got there. Somerset won with the offensive profile that has started to define this group: loud contact, crooked innings, and enough power to flip a game in one swing.

Starting The Series Off Strong

The tone was set Tuesday night in a 2-1 win built almost entirely around Marco Luciano and

Trent Sellers. Luciano supplied the offense with two solo home runs, while Sellers delivered one of the sharper outings of his season, striking out a career-high 10 over 4.2 scoreless innings.

Somerset’s staff finished with 14 strikeouts, continuing a swing-and-miss trend that has quietly become one of the club’s more reliable early-season strengths.

Wednesday’s doubleheader ended in a split, though Somerset still came away with plenty to

like. In the opener, the Patriots rolled to a 13-1 win, pounding out 15 hits with every starter

recording at least one. Cade Smith gave them six innings of one-run ball for his first Double-A

win, while Jace Avina and Luciano both homered. The nightcap got away in a 6-5 loss, but the lineup kept swinging. Avina went deep again, Garrett Martin added a solo shot, and Gerrit Cole continued his rehab assignment with 5.2 innings, allowing three runs with no walks and three strikeouts.

Then came Thursday, when Somerset turned a late-game wobble into one of its better wins of the season. Carlos Rodón struck out eight over 5.1 innings in his rehab start, Martin homered twice, and Coby Morales delivered the biggest swing of the night with a three-run, opposite-field walk-off homer in the ninth to beat Portland, 9-6. It was Somerset’s first walk-off homer since May 16, 2025, and by then the theme was impossible to miss: the Patriots had hit multiple homeruns in five straight games and in nine of their previous 11.

Friday Night Route

Somerset beat Portland, 13-3, and clinched its first series victory of the season with the kind of full-lineup effort that had been missing for much of April. All nine Patriots starters scored at least one run, eight of the nine recorded a hit, and Tyler Hardman set the tone immediately with a first-inning grand slam. Jack Cebert made his Double-A debut and looked the part, earning his first Double-A win after striking out seven over 5.1 innings.

Garrett Martin kept his own heater going, homering for the third straight game and pushing his season total to eight. At that point, he was not just pacing Somerset. He was sitting among the top power bats in the Yankees’ system and the Eastern League.

Saturday’s Shutout

Somerset made its biggest statement of the week Saturday.

The Patriots shut out Portland, 11-0, for their first blanking of the season, pairing another power surge from the lineup with Kyle Carr’s sharpest Double-A outing. Carr gave Somerset six scoreless innings, did not walk a batter and struck out seven, delivering the kind of clean,

efficient start that allowed the Patriots to control the game from the middle innings on.

The offense took care of the rest. Somerset matched a season high with five home runs,

including two from Tyler Hardman and one apiece from DJ Gladney, Jace Avina and Coby

Morales. The Patriots also went deep three times in the fourth inning, matching a franchise

record for home runs in a single frame.

By the end of the afternoon, the takeaway was pretty clear: this lineup does not need much time to change the shape of a game.

Overall Dominant First Series Win

For most of the week, Somerset’s lineup looked relentless. Hardman was right in the middle of it. He finished Saturday with two homers and four RBI, had three homers and eight RBI over a two-game stretch, and continued to crush Portland pitching. Through eight games against the Sea Dogs this season, he was 14-for-29 with four homers and 13 RBI.

Morales continued to look like one of Somerset’s steadiest bats. His walk-off homer Thursday was the headline moment, but the larger trend matters more. He reached base safely in 22 of his first 24 appearances overall and kept stacking extra-base damage. By Saturday, he had seven homers and 14 extra-base hits, both placing him among the Eastern League’s more productive hitters.

Avina also changed the feel of his season in a hurry. After hitting just one homer in his first 12 games, he had six in his next 10. His home run Saturday gave him seven on the year, and his stretch included three homers in four games.

Martin’s week was just as hot. He homered twice Thursday, went deep again Friday, and had

four homers with seven RBI across a three-game stretch. He had gone from quiet stretches

early in the season to suddenly looking like one of the more dangerous power bats in the

Eastern League.

The pitching was not perfect, and Sunday’s finale was a reminder that Somerset still has some cleanup to do. The staff had dominant individual starts from Sellers, Smith, Cebert, and Carr, but Portland still found enough offense in the doubleheader nightcap, Thursday’s late innings, and Sunday’s finale to prevent the week from becoming a complete runaway.

The Patriots did more than win their first series of the season. They gave themselves something to build on. Sunday’s loss dulled the finish a bit, but it did not change the larger point. After a rough trip to Richmond, Somerset needed a response. For most of the week, it got one.

Up Next

The Pats head to Reading and square off with the 2nd place Fightin’ Phils

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