Rumble Ponies Game Notes: Game #63 Rumble Ponies (33-29)

BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES (33-29), 4th Eastern Division (New York Mets)		ALTOONA CURVE (34-31) 2nd Western Division (Pittsburgh Pirates)
	Sunday June 16, 2019•  2:05 PM NYSEG Stadium• Binghamton, NY  RHP Beau Sulser (4-0, 1.34 ERA) vs. LHP David Peterson (2-2, 4.82 ERA) Broadcast: NewsRadio 1290 AM WNBF, MiLB.TV

THIS AFTERNOON: The Binghamton Rumble Ponies wrap up their six-game homestand against the Altoona Curve on Father’s Day.

LAST TIME OUT: The Ponies dropped their fourth game in a row losing 5-1 to the Curve on Saturday night . The Ponies have now dropped 11 of their last 15 and have lost five straight series.

TIGHT EASTERN DIVISION RACE: The Rumble Ponies remain in fourth place in the Eastern Division, two and a half games behind first place Trenton and Reading. Hartford is a half game back in second.

CRISP DEFENSIVELY:  Altoona comes into tonight’s game with the fewest errors (35) in the Eastern League. Altoona has not made an error in this series. The Curve have won 8 of their last 10.

LEE LEADING THE WAY: Braxton Lee was the only Binghamton player to have two hits last night. He also had an RBI groundout and a walk. Lee leads the Eastern League in average (.304). In second is Curve infielder Hunter owen (.300).

HOME STRETCH OF THE FIRST HALF: The  first half of the Eastern League regular season concludes after Tuesday night’s game. Currently Trenton, Hartford, and Reading are in a three-way tie for first in the Eastern Division. The Rumble Ponies sit two and a half games back.

SANCHEZ HITTING STREAK: Ali Sanchez is currently on an 8--game hitting streak. During the hitting streak, Sanchez is hitting .370 (10-27)  with four RBI and four runs scored.

TODAY’S STARTER: LHP David Peterson is coming off his longest outing of the year (6.1 IP). This is his second start of the year against Altoona. In game two of a doubleheader on 5/14 he allowed 4 hits and 1 run over 5,  with 0 BB and 7K’s.

HOME COOKING: The Ponies are in the middle of a stretch where they are playing 14 of 17 games at NYSEG Stadium. So far they are 1-4. After a brief  three-game road trip to New Hampshire next week, they return home for a three-game series with Richmond (6/21-6/23). That is followed by a five-game series vs. Erie (6/24-6/26).

OWEN LIKES THE SOUTHERN TIER:  Altoona infielder Hunter Owen hit his EL leading 15th homer of the year against the Rumble Ponies last night at NYSEG Stadium, a solo homer in the fourth inning. It is the second time this year he has gone deep against the Ponies on the Southern Tier.  He is hitting .438 against the Ponies this year in four games in Binghamton. Owen also leads the EL in runs scored (44).

COMING UP: The Rumble Ponies are off on Monday before opening a three-game series Tuesday night in New Hampshire against the Fisher Cats.