Josh Zeid watched his share of New Haven Ravens games as a teenager in Connecticut, and remembers when the Portland Sea Dogs came to town.
On Thursday night, Zeid was facing those Portland Sea Dogs, with hopes of using the Eastern League as a springboard back to the major leagues.
He mastered the Sea Dogs, before 6,175 spectators, in a 4-0 win for the Binghamton Mets.
Zeid, 29, had moved from fan to college pitcher (Tulane) and to the pros when Philadelphia drafted him in the 10th round of the 2009 draft.
In April of 2011, Reid was at Hadlock Field, pitching for Reading in the season opener. He would face the Sea Dogs twice before being traded to Houston, where he relieved in 48 games for the Astros in 2013 and 2014.
“It’s fun being back,” Zeid said after he held Portland to four hits and two walks in eight outstanding innings on Thursday. “It’s an opportunity to pitch and work on my dream again. … It’s up to me. If I get the guys out …”
Zeid (3-3) got the Dogs out plenty of times, including seven by strikeout. He has a change-up and splitter, but he used them sparingly and threw “a whole bunch of sliders.” He never faced more than four batters in one inning.
“He’s got some good stuff,” said Portland first baseman Nate Freiman, who faced Zeid before in the minors.
Freiman got one of the hits, a single in fourth. Portland’s best chance to score came in the first when Mauricio Dubon swatted a fastball for a one-out triple off the center-field wall. But Zeid struck out Andrew Benintendi and Freiman.
Jacob Dahlstrand (1-1) took the loss in his second Double-A start, and his sixth start this year since coming back from Tommy John surgery. Dahlstrand, 24, allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out one. One of the hits was Matt Oberste’s solo home run in the fourth.
Meanwhile, Zeid was cruising. The Mets are his fifth organization. In 2014, his season was shortened by foot surgeries. Waived by Houston after the season, he pitched for the Tigers in Triple-A last year. Zeid hooked up with the Angels this year but was released in spring training.
With nowhere to go, he began the season with the new independent team, the New Britain Bees – “about 30 minutes from my house. Fortunately, the right people saw me.”
The Mets saw him and signed him last month.
NOTES: The Sea Dogs dropped to 35-62, while the Mets are 45-61. … Portland got two scoreless innings each from relievers Taylor Grover (one hit, two strikeouts) and Ben Taylor (one hit, four strikeouts). … Taylor has a 1.62 ERA in eight appearances … Former Sea Dogs pitcher Henry Owens started for Triple-A Pawtucket Thursday, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks in 52/3 innings.
The Sea Dogs will host their third annual baseball/softball equipment drive Friday and Saturday to benefit Baseball Miracles, a non-profit group that brings baseball to economically deprived areas. Fans are asked to bring new or used equipment to the Hadlock.
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