Binghamton Mets 2013 Game Notes

 

 

Binghamton Mets (37-25) at Altoona Curve (25-36) (Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

RHP Jacob deGrom (2-5, 5.09) vs. RHP Ethan Hollingsworth (2-3, 4.72)

Sunday, June 9, 2013 • Game #64 • Away Game #33

Peoples Natural Gas Field • Altoona, PA • 6:00 PM

LAST GAME: Rafael Montero allowed just two singles over seven shutout innings to lead the B-Mets past Altoona, 9-3 Saturday night. He struck out six and faced just three over the minimum in his seventh win of the season. Offensively, Binghamton was led by Cesar Puello and Travis Taijeron. Puello drove in four runs, including a three-run home run in the ninth to boost the lead. Taijeron had three hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle in his Double-A debut. Montero has not allowed an earned run in his last three Double-A starts, and has a scoreless streak of 23.2 innings. Ryan Fraser relieved Montero in the eighth inning, and allowed the Curve to score three runs in the bottom of the ninth before ending the game.

 

BINGHAMTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Jacob deGrom makes his 10th start of the season for the B-Mets, and his first against the Curve. On June 2 against New Hampshire, the righty earned his second win of the season after allowing two runs in 5.1 innings. Away from NYSEG Stadium in 2013, he is 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA in four starts. After losing his first four Double-A decisions, deGrom has won two of his last three. Opponents are batting .301 against him this season. Before being called up to the B-Mets in mid-April, deGrom went 1-0 in two starts with St. Lucie (High-A).

ALTOONA STARTING PITCHER: RHP Ethan Hollingsworth pitches for the 15th time this season for the Curve, and his second as a starter. This will be the third time in 2013 Hollingsworth has pitched against the B-Mets. In the series opener, he threw a scoreless inning of relief. He threw 1.1 innings against Binghamton back on May 28. His only start came on May 3 on the road against the Erie Seawolves. He was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits over five innings of work. He struck out a season-high five batters in a game Altoona would lose, 6-3. Opponents are hitting .267 against the Joliet, IL native. He was drafted by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 2008 draft out of Western Michigan University.

WELCOME TO DOUBLE-A: Travis Taijeron went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored in his Double-A debut on Saturday. The outfielder finished a triple shy of the cycle. On April 6 against Akron, Blake Forsythe finished a home run shy of the cycle in his Double-A debut.

LOVE THE WEEKEND: In 2013, Binghamton a combined 14-5 in weekend games (Saturday/ Sunday). During the week, they are 23-20.

WINNING IN JUNE: Through the first seven games of June, Binghamton is 6-1. They are outscoring their opponents 44-23 and they now have a 4.5 game lead in the Eastern Division ahead of the Portland Sea Dogs.

SEARCHING FOR THE SWEEP: Saturday’s 9-3 victory clinched the series victory for the B-Mets. Binghamton has now won five consecutive series, and have a series record of 10-4-4. In 2013, they have one series sweep; they swept the Akron Aeros at NYSEG Stadium 5/13 - 5/15.

POWER TO THE PUELLO: Cesar Puello has recorded multi-hit games in each of his last six games. During the hitting streak, he is 15-for-25 with six home runs. He has nine extra base hits, and has driven in 15 runs to lead the offense. His batting average is now at .333, ranking him third in the league.

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 are off on Monday, and then they hit the road to take on the Trenton Thunder for a three-game series. Erik Goeddel has the ball for the B-Mets in the opener on Tuesday against RHP Mikey O’Brien.