Binghamton Mets 2014 Game Notes

Binghamton Mets (60-41) at

Portland Sea Dogs (65-37)

(Double-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox)

RHP Rainy Lara (4-3, 4.73) vs. RHP Luis Diaz (3-2, 2.73)

 Tuesday, July 22, 2014 • Game #102 • Road Game #49

Hadlock Field •  Portland, ME • 7:00 PM

LAST GAME: The Portland Sea Dogs plated two runs in the third and matched the Binghamton Mets run-for-run to the finish line in a 6-4 win on Monday night at Hadlock Field. Brian Burgamy and Brandon Nimmo each went deep in the losing effort. The defeat pushed Binghamton to 4.5 games out of first place. Portland broke a tie game with two runs in the seventh off relievers Ryan Fraser and Randy Fontanez. Robby Scott tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his second save whileMike McCarthy collected the win. T.J. Rivera tallied his second four-hit game in the month of July. Gabriel Ynoa didn’t factor into the decision, giving up three runs (two earned) in 5.2 innings.

BINGHAMTON STARTER: RHP Rainy Lara takes the mound for the 14^th time and his third against Portland. The Bani, Dominican Republic native took the loss in his most recent outing. He gave up four runs (three earned) in six innings and walked four in a 7-3 loss to Erie on Friday, July 11. Lara is 0-1 against the Sea Dogs in 2014. He’s given up six runs (five earned) on ten hits in eight innings and has seven strikeouts. Lara was singed as a non-drafted free agent on October 31, 2009.

PORTLAND STARTER: RHP Luis Diaz makes his sixth start of the year and second against Binghamton. The righty didn’t factor into the decision in his last outing. He went five innings, gave up two runs and struck out seven in a 3-2 loss to New Hampshire on Thursday, July 17. Diaz was saddled with the loss in his only other matchup with the B-Mets this season. He went 5.2 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on July 10. The Valencia, Venezuela native struck out nine batters in the game. Diaz was signed by Boston as a non-drafted free agent on August 28, 2008.

HARD TIMES AT HADLOCK: Monday’s loss to Portland was the B-Mets sixth straight at Hadlock Field. The team is just 1-7 in Portland this season and has been outscored 33-15 in those games. The B-Mets have a winning record on the road against every other team in the league that it has played, except New Britain. Binghamton has yet to travel to Reading, Harrisburg, Richmond or Trenton.

BUR-GONE-Y: B-Mets infielder Brian Burgamy hit his third home run in the past two games on Monday. That brings the All-Star’s total to 18 on the season. The mark ties him for the team lead with Dustin Lawley. Binghamton leads the league in long balls with 96.

RIVERA RAKES: Binghamton shortstop T.J, Rivera tallied his second four-hit game this month on Monday. He went 4-for-4 and scored a run in the loss. The 25-year-old is hitting .356 with four extra-base hits in July.

 HOLY HERRERA!: Binghamton INF Dilson Herrera went 1-for-4 on Monday to extend his hitting streak to nine games. This comes on the heels of an 11-game stretch earlier this month. He has a hit in 20 of the last 21 contests. The  20-year-old has tallied at least one hit in all but four of his outings since joining Binghamton on June 19.

OI VEY!: Binghamton committed two errors on Monday to bring their total to 14 in the past nine games. This comes after the B-Mets tallied only four in the previous nine outings. Binghamton is in a tie for third-fewest errors in the league with 76.

BATTLE OF THE BESTS: Binghamton and Portland can be found near the top of the league in most offensive categories. The B-Mets are in the top three in batting average, runs, home runs and slugging percentage. On the other side, the Sea Dogs are first in batting average, runs and slugging percentage, along with fifth in stolen bases.