Portland (38-58) jumped out to an early lead with single runs in the first two innings off B-Mets’ starter Robert Carson.
Binghamton (39-59) responded in the third against Brock Huntzinger. After the right-hander struck out the first two hitters of the frame, Reese Havens and Josh Satin smacked singles. Allan Dykstra followed and plated both men with his 12th homer of the season, a towering, three-run blast to right.
The Sea Dogs got back even in the bottom of the frame. Ryan Khoury rode the wind out to centerfield for his second homer of the season.
The back-and-forth affair continued in the fourth. Brahiam Maldonado answered Khoury’s long ball with a no-doubt bomb to left-center to give Binghamton the lead back. It was his team-leading 16th homer of the season and first since June 29.
Portland loaded the bases in the fourth against Carson and Chih-Hsien Chiang knocked the southpaw out with a game-tying, RBI single to right. Rhiner Cruz entered and got Will Middlebrooks to hit into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play to preserve the deadlock.
Matt den Dekker gave the B-Mets the lead back in the fifth inning with the first of his two home runs on the day, a solo blast to left-center.
Huntzinger exited after five innings on the hook. He allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out seven.
Eammon Portice replaced the starter and gave up a leadoff double to Raul Reyes in the sixth. Maldonado promptly moved him up to third with a sacrifice bunt and Eric Campbell drove him in with a high chopper to third.
Working with a two-run cushion, Cruz got into trouble in the bottom of the sixth. Dening reached with a leadoff single. Cruz hit the next hitter, Heiker Meneses, to put two on and nobody out. After Jeremy Hazelbaker struck out, Khoury lined an RBI single to right-center, trimming the deficit to one. Cruz proceeded to strike out Chiang, but worked a full count to Middlebrooks. On a payoff fastball, the Portland third baseman clubbed a home run over the Maine Monster in left to vault the Sea Dogs into the lead 8-6.
The second home run of the day for den Dekker drew Binghamton within a run in the seventh, but Portland got the run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Hazelbaker.
Blake Maxwell entered the game for Portice in the eighth to try for a two-inning save. However, the B-Mets had other plans. Reyes led off with a double. Maldonado moved him to third with a line-drive single to left. Campbell extended his hitting streak to six games next with an RBI single to center. Niuman Romero came next and bunted the runners into scoring position. Maxwell fielded the bunt and threw the ball away down the right-field line. The errant throw allowed Maldonado to score the tying run. The side-winding righty buckled down from there though and stranded the runners to keep the game tied.
Binghamton had another excellent scoring chance in the ninth when they managed three consecutive singles with one out. Unfortunately, Maxwell got the next two hitters to maintain the tie.
John Lujan, who struck out the side in the eighth, retired the first batter in the ninth before getting to Dening. The Portland leftfielder hammered a 2-1 fastball from the reliever out of the park to right-center for the walk-off winner.
Havens went 3-for-5 with a double in his first game back after a month on the disabled list. Reyes and Maldonado also managed three-hit days at the bottom of the order. Binghamton outhit Portland for the third time in the series, 15-14.
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