PORTLAND, ME – The Binghamton Mets fended off elimination by blowing past the Portland Sea Dogs with ten runs in the fifth and sixth innings en route to an 11-4 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Division Championship Series at Hadlock Field on Saturday afternoon. Binghamton scored a postseason franchise record eleven runs to set the stage for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Sunday afternoon.
For the third straight game, Portland grabbed an early lead. Mike Miller zipped a single up the middle against Rainy Lara and Sean Coyle pulled a double down the left-field line. With two aboard, Keury De La Cruz bounced a chance to Brian Burgamy at first. Burgamy went home with the throw, but Miller slid in safely with the game’s first run.
Binghamton used a two-out rally to break through against Mike Augliera in the third. Brandon Nimmo started the threat with an infield single up the middle. TJ Rivera shot a single past the second baseman Sean Coyle to push Nimmo to third and Burgamy tied the game with a line drive single to left.
The Sea Dogs responded in the bottom of the fourth inning. Catcher Carson Blair threaded Lara’s second pitch of the frame over the right-center field wall, pushing Portland back on top.
The B-Mets fought back and pieced together a three-run fifth to grab the lead. After two straight hits to open the inning, TJ Rivera shot a sinking line drive single to left, plating Wilfredo Tovar with the tying run. Reliever Mike McCarthy took over from Augliera after a walk loaded the bases and issued a free pass to Ceciliani to force in another run. McCarthy capped the inning by uncorking a wild pitch, prompting Rivera to dash home.
After grabbing the lead with three runs in the fifth, Binghamton broke the contest open with a seven-run sixth. The B-Mets sent 11 men to the plate, collected four hits, cashed in on three walks and walked away from the 38-minute frame with an 11-2 lead. The first seven batters of the inning all reached and scored against relievers McCarthy and Pete Ruiz.
Lara capped his start, the first quality one from a B-Met in the postseason, with a blank sixth. Jon Velasquez surrendered a two-run homer to David Chester in the eighth before Randy Fontanez posted a perfect ninth.
Lara (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits while fanning two over six innings of work. Augliera (0-1) surrendered four runs on eight hits in four innings.
POSTGAME NOTES: The game’s start time was moved up to noon due to the threat of inclement weather in Portland…Binghamton is 1-1 in Game 5’s in franchise history, most recently falling to the Portland Sea Dogs in the North Division Championship, 7-3, on September 7, 1996…Binghamton matched a postseason franchise record with a seven-run margin of victory (9/2/92, W 8-1 v Harrisburg, G1 Eastern League Semifinals) - team press release
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