Binghamton 5 - Trenton 4

Binghamton Tops Trenton for 50^th Win

BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Mets picked up their 50^th win of the season as they defeated the Trenton Thunder, 5-4 in the series finale Sunday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium.

This is the first time in franchise’s 22-year history they have picked up their 50^th victory before July 1^st.

RHP Noah Syndergaard started the game for the B-Mets, but got off on the wrong foot. The second pitch of game was lifted over the right field wall by Ramon Flores, and the Thunder took an early 1-0 lead.

The deficit did not last long however, as the offense came through immediately against Major League rehab pitcher Michael Pineda. Two batters after Danny Muno led off with a walk, Cesar Puello blasted a deep home run into the railyard in left field to give Binghamton a 2-1 lead.

In the second, Pineda had a hard time finding the strike zone. After allowing a leadoff single to Richard Lucas, he walked Blake Forsythe and hit Joe Bonfe to load the bases. Two batters later, Pineda walked Muno again to bring home a run.

After the walk, Pineda found a groove and struck out the next four batters he faced. That stretch abruptly ended with two outs in the third when Richard Lucas hit a towering fly ball that drifted over the left field wall for a solo home run.

He was taken out of the game after three innings on the mound, as he allowed four runs, four hits, and walked four in his rehab start. Rigoberto Arrebato was the first reliever brought on for the Thunder, and he held Binghamton scoreless in the fourth and fifth inning.

Syndergaard had his way with Trenton after giving up the home run in the first inning. He held the Thunder scoreless through the next four innings, and left the game with a season-high nine strikeouts.

Jim Fuller came in the game in the top of the sixth, and immediately ran into trouble. He allowed a single and double before surrendering a three-run home run to Francisco Arcia which tied the game, 4-4.

The B-Mets rose to occasion however in the bottom of the inning. With runners at first and second base, Puello hit a hard ground ball that skipped off the glove of third baseman Reegie Corona. It bounced into foul territory and allowed Wilfredo Tovar to score from second base to give Binghamton a 5-4 lead.

That was all of the cushion Binghamton needed, as Ryan Fraser and Pedro Feliciano each threw a scoreless inning before handing the ball to closer Jeff Walters. Walters allowed two base-runners in the ninth, but struck out Andrew Clark to seal the series win for Binghamton.

Fuller (1-0) was awarded the victory on the mound, and Arrebato (0-1) was tagged with the loss. Walters recorded his league-leading 20^th save of the season, and is the first B-Met to earn 20 saves in a season since Eddie Kunz did so in 2008 (27).

The victory also gives Binghamton the series victory, 3 games to 1. The B-Mets have now won 10 consecutive series, and finished the month of June with a 19-5 record.

The B-Mets (50-29) remain at home and welcome in the Altoona Curve for a three-game series at NYSEG Stadium. First pitch on Monday night is at 6:35 PM as RHP Erik Goeddel takes the mound for the B-Mets against RHP Jeff Kingham for Altoona. The Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show starts at 6:20 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF.

POSTGAME NOTES: Five losses matches the fewest losses in one month in franchise history (done twice before)…against Trenton Cesar Puello is batting .429 with 8 HR and 16 RBI (11 G)…Binghamton has not lost a series since May 6-8 (@ TRN)