PORTLAND — That was a heck of a first inning thrown by Portland Sea Dogs starter Kason Gabbard.

And not in a good way.

The once and current Dogs lefty, who is attempting to rediscover the form that three seasons back got him to Fenway Park, was shelled by the New Britain Rock Cats, who eventually hung a 9-5 thumping on the Dogs, before 5,154 witnesses at foggy Hadlock Field.

It was a performance that was more perplexing than troubling to Gabbard, who didn’t survive the first inning while retiring just one of the 10 Rock Cats he faced.

“I’ve been working on some stuff since I got back from Florida,” said Gabbard, who rehabbed his surgically-repaired left elbow in Extended Spring Training after the Sox reacquired him from Texas. “Honestly, I have a new arm, but I don’t have the body to go with it. My arm feels great. I just don’t feel comfortable on the mound.”

His discomfort was evident from the first batter — a five-pitch walk to lead off man Brandon Roberts — on.

Within moments, Gabbard loaded the bases — with none out — by issuing a walk to Toby Gardenhire, then hitting Rene Tosoni on the arm.

“He looked good in the pen,” said Portland catcher John Otness. “He had his fastball command. He’s got more mobility in his elbow, now. It used to lock. But he’s trying to find his (confidence).”

Gabbard recorded his only out by fanning Juan Portes on a pitch well out of the strike zone.

Then came the cave-in.

A bases-loaded walk to Whit Robbins brought in one run.

A bases-clearing double by Danny Berg brought in three more.

That was later followed by a three-run bomb by New Britain designated hitter Erik Lis that ran the score to 7-0.

“He’s struggling with his fastball command,” said Portland manager Arnie Beyeler. “He throws strikes in the bullpen. And he’s close. He’s just not the finished product yet. If he was, he wouldn’t be here. He’s a big league guy. But we see that the command just isn’t there.”

In all, Gabbard three 36 pitches — just nine for strikes.

The last of those, a 70 m.p.h. rainbow caromed off the helmet of Roberts.

“I’ve never really had this kind of problem,” said Gabbard, whose ERA ballooned to 19.64. “The thing is, I feel great. That’s what people don’t understand. It could be something little. I just need some more input.”

It so happened that several members of the Red Sox minor league brain trust were on hand with the intention of providing that guidance.

CHIN MUSIC: Portland’s offensive highlights were Jon Still’s three run bomb into the Maine Monster mesh in the first inning, and a towering two run homer by Josh Reddick in the seventh. ”¦ Sea Dogs President Charlie Eshbach is slated to make a whirlwind trip to Philadelphia, today, for an Eastern League board of directors meeting. Tops on the agenda is the proposed shift of an EL team to Richmond, Va. The most likely candidate for relocation is the Connecticut Defenders. ”¦ Rosters for the upcoming EL All-Star Game will be announced this afternoon. The Sea Dogs will have a minimum of three players selected. Pitchers Junichi Tazawa and T.J. Large, and third baseman Jorge Jimenez, would all be good choices. The game will be played July 15 at Waterfront Park in Trenton, N.J. ”¦ Sea Dogs fans will get two games for the price of one, tonight (6 p.m.) as the teams will hook up for a double-header. Scheduled to start for Portland are RHP Ryne Lawson (1-6, 6.56) and Tazawa (7-4, 2.92). The Rock Cats will counter with righties Frank Mata (1-1, 4.85) and Yohan Pino (2-1, 3.89). The Sea Dogs report that plenty of good seats remain.

— Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535 ext. 318 or dhickling@journaltribune.com.