Binghamton 6 - Portland 5

 

BINGHAMTON, NY – Josh Rodriguez scampered home with the game-winning run on a wild pitch by Jeremy Kehrt in the bottom of the ninth as the Binghamton Mets walked off past the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-5 Monday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium.

Rodriguez led off the ninth with a hard hit line drive right at third baseman Michael Almanzar. It hit off of his glove and bounced into the seats beyond third base resulting in a ground-rule double. Cesar Puello moved him to third base on a ground ball to second base for the first out, but Allan Dystra then struck out for out number two. With Cory Vaughn batting Kehrt bounced an 0-2 curveball in front of home plate allowing Rodriguez to score the game-winning run.

Portland got the offense going immediately against B-Met starter Jacob deGrom. The first four hitters reached base, and Almanzar singled home Shannon Wilkerson for the first run of the game. deGrom buckled down after the single, and retired the next six batters to avoid further damage.

In the fifth deGrom sent an errant pickoff attempt over Dykstra’s head at first base and into the stands, which allowed Wilkerson to score from second base. The error put the B-Mets down 2-0, but the offense came back in the bottom half.

Joe Bonfe singled to lead off the inning against Brandon Workman. Wilfredo Tovar followed by poking a base hit into right field. Matty Johnson let the ball roll under his glove, which allowed Tovar and Bonfe to move to second and third with nobody out. Danny Muno and Rodriguez followed with consecutive RBI groundouts to tie the game 2-2.

Dykstra broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth; the lefthander led off the inning by launching a solo home run over the right field wall. This is the second consecutive game Dykstra has hit a home run. He came through again in the seventh with an RBI double into the right-centerfield gap. He finished the afternoon three extra base hits and two RBI.

John Church ran into trouble in the eighth inning for the B-Mets. After retiring the first batter of the inning, the next four reached base to tie the game at four runs apiece. He was lifted for Jeff Walters, and Heiker Meneses hit his first pitch of the game into left field for a base hit. Matt Spring scored on the play, and the Sea Dogs took a 5-4 lead.

The B-Met offense tied things up once again in the bottom of the eighth. Darrell Ceciliani led off with a double, and he scored two batters later on a Bonfe sacrifice fly. Walters then pitched a scoreless top of the ninth before the B-Mets won it in the ninth.

The win gives the B-Mets (29-22) their third consecutive victory, and moves them into a tie with the Sea Dogs (28-21) for the Eastern Division lead. The homestand continues Tuesday night as the B-Mets welcome the Altoona Curve for a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM, with RHP Erik Goeddel pitching against RHP Casey Sadler. The Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show begins at 6:20 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF.

POSTGAME NOTES: Binghamton has gone 0-for-24 with RISP in the last two games…Josh Rodriguez is now on a season-high 13-game hitting streak…The B-Mets have walked off twice in the last three games