Binghamton Mets 2013 Game Notes

Binghamton Mets (35-25) at Altoona Curve (25-34) (Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

RHP Logan Verrett (6-2, 3.86) vs. RHP David Bromberg (2-5, 3.83)

Friday, June 7, 2013 • Game #62 • Away Game #31

Peoples Natural Gas Field • Altoona, PA • 7:00 PM

LAST GAME: The B-Mets won the rubber match over the Trenton Thunder, 5-4, Thursday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium. Cesar Puello provided two solo home runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth  to lead the offense. Alonzo Harris drove in two runs; one on a bases loaded walk and the other with an RBI double. Cory Mazzoni started the game and earned a no-decision. He struck out a career-high 11 batters and allowed only two hits over his final five innings. Jeff Walters suffered a blown save in the top of the eighth inning after allowing an inherited run to score on a sacrifice fly, but picked up the win after throwing a perfect ninth inning.

BINGHAMTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Logan Verrett makes his 12th start of the season for the B-Mets, and his first against the Curve. He is tied for the EL lead with six wins, but is coming off of his roughest outing this season. On May 31 at New Hampshire, Verrett was tagged for eight runs on eleven hits. Both were season-highs given up by the righty. He threw 5.0 innings, which matched his shortest outing of 2013. After going 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in April, he went 2-2 with a 4.99 ERA in May. Away from NYSEG Stadium in 2013, he is 4-1 in five starts. Verrett was drafted in the third round of the 2011 draft by the Mets out of Baylor University.

ALTOONA STARTING PITCHER: RHP David Bromberg pitches in his 12th game for Altoona, and his seventh as a starter. On May 31, he received the loss against the Portland Sea Dogs after giving up two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings. As a starter he is 1-4 with a 3.34 ERA, and as a reliever he is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. In May, he posted a 2.61 ERA in 31.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .287 against the righty this season. At home, Bromberg is 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in six games (three starts). He was drafted in the 32nd round of the 2005 draft by the Minnesota Twins out of Santa Ana Junior College.

SERIES ROUNDUP: The B-Mets went 2-1 in a three game series against the Trenton Thunder at NYSEG Stadium. Binghamton won on Tuesday, 8-0. Trenton won the second game, 10-6. The B-Mets won the rubber match on Thursday, 5-4. Binghamton has won each of their last three series, and have a 2013 series record of 9-4-4.

POWER TO THE PUELLO: Cesar Puello hit two solo home runs on Thursday v TRN. His first tied the game 3-3 in the sixth, and his second gave Binghamton a 5-4 lead in the eighth. Puello has hit five home runs in the last four games, and leads the team with 11 overall. In six games against Trenton this season, Puello is 11-for-22 with seven home runs and 12 RBI. Nine of his 11 base hits have been for extra bases.

RUN SUPPORT: After scoring five runs on Thursday, Binghamton now leads the league with 302 runs scored. They average 4.95 runs per game this season, and have outscored their opponents 32-16 in the month of June.

HIGH STRIKEOUT NUMBERS: In Thursday’s win, Binghamton struck out 13 batters. It was the first time they have recorded double-figure strikeouts in the month of June, and they rank second in the league with 527 strikeouts as a staff (8.64 per game). Cory Mazzoni set a career-high with 11 strikeouts on Thursday.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: Josh Rodriguez has hit safely in 20 consecutive games, stretching back to May 13. He is hitting .421 (32-76) during the streak, and has 17 RBI. The streak matches the longest by anyone in the Eastern League since Justin Christian (RIC) had a 21-game hitting streak stretching from August 2010 to April 2011.

NEXT GAME PREVIEW: The B-Mets continue their three-game series against the Altoona Curve Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM and RHP Rafael Montero will pitch for the B-Mets against RHP Casey Sadler.