Sandberg powers Sea Dogs in debut Portland edges Navigators 4-2

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PORTLAND – A little more than two weeks ago, Washington state native Jared Sandberg was wondering what was next for him after he was released by the Washington (D.C.) Nationals.

Thursday night, the 27-year-old veteran of 10 minor league baseball seasons was the offensive hero as he went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a single, and all four RBIs in Portland’s season-opening 4-2 win over the Norwich Navigators.

“He’s gone through more already in his career than most guys ever do with the ups and downs, and he’s come here with a purpose and, boy, he really delivered tonight,” said Dogs manager Todd Claus. “He’s not just here to keep playing. He wants to get back to the big leagues.”

The Olympia native and Tampa, Fla., resident couldn’t have scripted the start to what could be a turning point season much better as he became the first Sea Dog to homer twice in an opening-day game since catcher Charles Johnson did it in 1994.

It’s quite a turnaround for a guy who was released for the first time in his career basically because Washington had no room at the Triple-A level. Two hours later, the Red Sox called.

“I took three days to evaluate my situation, but it never crossed my mind it was time to hang it up,” said the 6-foot-3, 210-pound third baseman. “Any time anyone loses their job, it gives you a different outlook on life.

“I don’t look at going from Triple- to Double-A as a step backward because it’s another opportunity. A lot of guys make the jump from Double-A now. You’re pretty close to the big leagues here.”

The Dogs got a standout effort from starting pitcher Jon Papelbon. The 6-4, 225-pound righthander mixed a fastball and curveball with an occasional split-finger pitch and threw 54 strikes among 76 pitches over six innings.

“I wasn’t necessarily trying to overthrow it, which sometimes I do, so I was able to get it over the plate and mix my pitches,” Papelbon said. “It was good to get the opening-night jitters over with.”

Talley Haines allowed a home run in two innings of work before Cla Meredith came on for a 1-2-3 ninth on 12 pitches for the save.

The Sea Dogs struck quickly with two runs in the first inning. Left fielder Chris Durbin hit the first pitch down the left field line for a single. A passed ball and two outs later, he scored on Sandberg’s 320-foot clout at the Coca-Cola bottle elevated over the 37-foot “Maine Monster” wall in left.

Norwich halved Portland’s lead with a run in the second courtesy of Julian Benavidez’s solo home run 400 feet to dead center, just over the clock on top of the Legg Mason message board.

Another Norwich solo shot, this time to left-center by Tyler Von Schell with one out in the fourth, tied it at 2-all.

Three straight one-out singles by Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, and Sandberg broke the tie for good in the fifth, and Sandberg added insurance with a solo shot to right-center in the eighth.

Conditions were anything but ideal for either hitters or pitchers on a cool, clammy, foggy evening at Hadlock Field, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone but the fans.

“The pitchers were around the plate and they attacked hitters tonight,” Claus said. “It didn’t look like the cold weather affected anyone on either team.”

SEA DOGS 4, NAVIGATORS 2

Norwich (0-1) Portland (1-0)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Lewis, cf 4 0 1 0 Durbin, lf 4 1 0

LaBarbera, 2b 4 0 1 0 Pedroia, 2b 3 0

Buscher, 3b 4 0 0 0 Ramirez, ss 4 1 0

Ortmeier, rf 4 0 0 0 Sandberg, 3b 4 2 4

Von Schell, 1b 4 1 1 1 West, 1b 3 0

Valderrama, lf 3 0 1 0 Murphy, cf 3 0

Benavidez, dh 3 1 1 1 Moss, rf 4 0

Lunsford, c 3 0 0 0 Concepcion, c 4 0 0

Hutting, ss 3 0 0 0 Fulse, dh 3 0 0

Totals 32 2 5 2 Totals 32 4 10 4

Norwich 010 100 000 – 2

Portland 200 010 01x – 4

E-Valderrama, Lunsford; Durbin, Pedroia; LOB-Norwich 3, Portland 7; 2B-Concepcion; HR-Von Schell, Benavides; Sandberg 2; DP-Buscher-LaBarbera-Von Schell; SB-Ramirez

Norwich IP H R ER BB SO

Simon (L, 0-1) 5 9 3 3 0 3

Sadler 2 1/3 1 1 1 2 4

Pannone 2/3 0 0 0 0 0

Portland IP H R ER BB SO

Papelbon (W, 1-0) 6 5 2 2 0 7

Haines 2 0 0 0 0 4

Meredith (S, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 1

WP-Simon; PB-Lunsford; T-2:08; ATT-5,278