Binghamton Mets 2013 Game Notes

Binghamton Mets (23-19) at Portland Sea Dogs (24-16) (Double-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox)

RHP Cory Mazzoni (1-1, 1.98) vs. LHP Drake Britton (3-3, 4.35)

Sunday, May 19, 2013 • Game #44 • Away Game #23

Hadlock Field • Portland, ME • 1:00 PM

LAST GAME: Portland catcher Matt Spring blasted a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning to hand the B-Mets a 10-7 loss Saturday afternoon. The game went back and forth for eight innings. Binghamton struck first when Cory Vuaghn singled home Danny Muno in the first. In the second, the B-Mets took a 2-0 lead when Wilfredo Tovar hit an RBI single. Portland countered with four straight runs. They scored two in the fourth with an RBI triple followed by a wild pitch, and then Spring hit his first home run of the day to drive in two more runs. The B-Mets fought back and scored on an RBI single by Josh Rodriguez in the fifth. He later scored on an error to tie the game. Chase Huchingson allowed Portland to re-take the lead with a run in the sixth and seventh inning, but once against Binghamton fought back. They started the eighth with three singles against Brock Huntzinger. They took the lead when Derrik Gibson made an error at shortstop, allowing two runs to come in. Jeff Walters tried to get his second save in as many days, but allowed Spring’s grand slam with two outs, and the B-Mets fell, 10-7.

BINGHAMTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Cory Mazzoni gets the ball for the fourth time this season. He earned his first win of the season in his last start. In Game two of a doubleheader v HAR on 5/12 the righty threw 5.2 innings and only gave up one run. Mazzoni missed 24 games earlier in the season on the DL (right elbow neuritis). Opponents are batting .283 against the righty, and he has struck out 14 while only walking two. He went 5-5 in Binghamton’s starting rotation in 2012.

PORTLAND STARTING PITCHER: LHP Drake Britton pitches in his ninth game this season for Portland, and his eighth as a starter. In his last start, he gave up two runs over 5.0 innings in a loss @ NH. The lefty threw against the B-Mets on 4/16, and was tagged with the loss. He allowed three runs on six hits in 5.0 innings in a game Binghamton would win 7-3. Opponents are batting .280 against Britton this season, and only 20 of his 28 allowed runs have been earned. He is averaging 5.05 innings per start.

ALLOWING THE WALK OFF: Binghamton’s last walk-off loss on a home run came against the Sea Dogs on July 20, 2011 when Mitch Dening hit a solo shot against John Lujan. Both walk-off losses for the B-Mets in 2013 have been against Portland; John Church uncorked a wild pitch which allowed the winning run to score on 4/23.

BLOWN SAVE: Jeff Walters was a perfect 11-for-11 in save chances prior to yesterday’s loss. The grand slam raised the closer’s ERA from 0.57 to 2.76. Before Saturday, Walters had only allowed one earned run in 15.2 innings on the mound. He still leads the EL with 11 saves, and has three more than any other pitcher.

FIVE STOLEN BASES: Binghamton stole a season-high five bases in Saturday’s loss. As a team, they lead the league with 49 stolen bags on the year. They have been caught 20 times, and have been successful 71% of the time they attempt to steal. Alonzo Harris leads the team with 13 steals, and ranks fourth in the league in that category.

RUN PRODUCER:  Over the past five games, Danny Muno has scored seven runs, and has scored at least once in each of those games. He has hit in the leadoff spot in the last four games, and has gone 3-for-16. Muno also leads the team with 27 walks. He is tied for second in the EL in walks, and is only two behind the league leader.

DURING THE STREAK: Saturday’s loss ended Binghamton’s five-game winning streak. During the streak, they averaged over seven runs and 10 hits per game. That was the longest streak since the B-Mets won seven in a row in August 2011.

NEXT GAME PREVIEW: For the first time this season the B-Mets will take on the New Britain Rock Cats. Game One of a four-game series isMonday night at 6:35 PM. Rafael Montero will pitch for Binghamton against Pat Dean.