Final score: New Hampshire 3, Trenton 1

Synopsis: The Thunder got a leadoff bomb from Abraham Almonte ... and not much else. After that, Trenton mustered just four more hits (including a double from Almonte) against New Hampshire starter Chad Jenkins. 

They didn't fare much better when Jenkins was out of the game, either. The combination of Matt Daly, Danny Farquhar and Aaron Loup held the Thunder without a hit or a walk over the final three frames. 

The big damage for New Hampshire came in the fifth, when with the bases loaded and the infield playing to pull, first baseman Mike McDade poked a Ryan Pope offering the other way, past where shortstop Walter Ibarra would normally be playing. 

Key stat: Trenton's 3 and 4 hitters, David Adams and Zoilo Almonte, were a combined 0 for 7 with a strikeout. Both are waiting for the first hit of 2012. It's never good for your big bats to go quiet, but it's even worse when the guys in front of them, in this case Abe Almonte and Ronnier Mustelier, are doing their job and getting on base. Both men have three hits through the first two contests. 

Bright spots: This is obviously Abraham Almonte, who collected the aforementioned home run and double in the loss. ... Melky Mesa, for what it's worth, just missed two pitches that, if he squared them, would have landed somewhere on Route 29 over the left-field wall. Chase Whitley also pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. 

Welcome back: Kevin Howard, a member of the Thunder in 2006, was 1 for 4 with a run and an RBI last night against his old club.

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Thursday's action.

Flicks to click: Here are six videos from the Thunder's loss.