Binghamton Mets 2013 Game Notes

Binghamton Mets (17-16) vs. Harrisburg Senators (15-18) (Double-A Affiliate of the Washington Nationals) 

RHP Jacob deGrom (0-3, 4.81) vs. RHP Paul Demny (1-4, 5.90)

Thursday, May 9, 2013 • Game #35 • Home Game #15

NYSEG Stadium • Binghamton, NY • 6:35 PM

LAST GAME: Cesar Puello launched two home runs and Logan Verrett struck out nine over 8.2 innings to lead the B-Mets past the Trenton Thunder in a 3-1 win Wednesday night. In the second inning, Puello got the offense started with a two-run blast against Nik Turley. In the fourth, Trenton cut the lead in half on an RBI single by J.R. Murphy. That was only damage charged to B=Met starter Logan Verrett. He retired 14 of the next 15 batters en route to the victory. In the fifth, Puello smashed his fourth home run of the year to boost the lead to 3-1. With runners on the corners and two outs in the ninth, Verrett was relieved by closer Jeff Walters. He retired the final batter to record to league-leading ninth save.

BINGHAMTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Jacob deGrom makes his seventh start of the season, and his fifth for the B-Mets. In his last start, he was tagged with the loss against Harrisburg. He gave up three runs over six innings in an eventual 3-1 defeat. He only struck out one, and allowed seven hits. In his four starts, the offense has only given him eight total runs of support. Before being promoted to Double-A, deGrom went 1-0 in two starts for St. Lucie (High-A). He was drafted in the ninth round of the 2010 draft by the Mets out of Stetson University.

HARRISBURG STARTING PITCHER: RHP Paul Demny makes his seventh start of the season, and his second against the B-Mets in 2013. On 5/4 against Binghamton, he received the loss after allowing five runs over four innings. Only two of the runs were earned, in a game Binghamton won 8-2. Since winning his first start of the season against Bowie, he has lost his last four decisions including his last three starts. Demny was selected by the Nationals in the sixth round of the 2008 draft out of Blinn College.

PUELLO PRODUCING: Cesar Puello went 2-for-4 with two home runs in Wednesday’s win over Trenton. He now has a 15-game hitting streak, which is the longest active streak in the Eastern League. He is the first B-Met with a multi-home run game in 2013, and hit all four home runs on this past road trip.

VERRETT SHINES: Logan Verrett allowed one run over 8.2 innings in Wednesday’s victory. He is now tied with Victor Larez for the most wins in the league (5). His nine strikeouts are the most for any B-Met starter in 2013, and his 8.2 innings is the longest outing so far this year.

GAME 3000:  Thursday will be the 3000th game in Binghamton Met history. The franchise began back in 1992. They have won two Eastern League championships, in 1992 and 1994.

SERIES OPENER STRUGGLES: Binghamton has lost in four of the last five series-opening games. 5/3 against Harrisburg, they lost to the Senators 3-1.

NO FREE BASES: Opponents have not committed a fielding error with the B-Mets batting in the last four games. In 2013, opponents have committed 31 errors; Binghamton has made 28 defensive mistakes.

FRESH BULLPEN: Last night Logan Verrett threw 8.2 innings before Jeff Walters faced one hitter and recorded the save. Only one reliever has been required in each of the last two games, as Shawn Teufel threw the final 1.2 innings on Tuesday. In seven of the last eight games, the Binghamton starting pitcher has gone at least 5.0 innings.

EL EASTERN: The B-Mets currently are 17-16, which is ranked fourth in the Eastern Division. They are 4.0 games behind first-place Portland, which matches the largest division deficit they have faced so far this season.

NEXT GAME PREVIEW: Friday night, the B-Mets continue their series against Harrisburg. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM, and Erik Goeddel will pitch against Caleb Clay.