A year ago at the end of August the Binghamton Mets were celebrating a franchise record breaking season and an Eastern League Regular season championship. With baseball excitement almost at euphoric levels in Binghamton it was easy to overlook the fact that B-Met’s lagged decidedly down the home stretch in 2013. In fact, Binghamton finished 86-55 on the season, but went just 7-8 in their final 15 regular season games– a precursor to a quick exit in the Eastern League playoffs at the hands of Trenton.
Low wattage baseball is not the case this summer as the B-Mets 2014 regular season melts away. Instead, as August moves through its final stages Binghamton is playing perhaps their best baseball of the summer. The B-Mets downed Akron 5-2 on Sunday, completing a three game sweep to improve their record to 81-52. With eight regular season games remaining, the B-Mets have an outside shot at tying or even surpassing the franchise record setting summer of 2013.
The red hot B-Mets, in the heat of a pennant race with Portland have won six of their last eight games. Amazingly, over that span Binghamton has lost ground to the Sea Dogs who have won eight in a row with the B-Mets now trailing in the first place chase by 2.5 games. However, as the regular season title chase finishes, the Portland vs Binghamton playoff showdown in the first round of the Eastern League playoffs should be a Clash of the Titans.
Steven Matz dominated the Rubber Ducks in the series finale on Sunday. Matz threw 5 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six without walking a batter as the B-Mets toppled Akron, 5-2. The hard throwing Matz had command of his full arsenal to keep Akron batters at bay. The victory was number six for Matz in Binghamton and dropped the southpaw’s ERA to a scant 2.17.
Brandon Nimmo doubled in the B-Mets first at bat of the game to start a three-run rally. A Dilson Herrera single and Brian Burgamy walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Jayce Boyd singled, scoring Nimmo, with Darrell Ceciliani’s sacrifice fly plating Herrerra. A T.J. Rivera single scored Burgamy for the final Binghamton run of the inning.
Rivera scorched Akron pitching all weekend long going 7-for-11 in the series and driving in three runs. The B-Met third baseman has had multiple hit games in the last five contests hitting .650 (13-20) over that time. Rivera, who bats sixth in the B-Met batting order, is now hitting .362 in 174 at bats as a B-Met.
Wilfredo Tovar manufactured a run in the second. Tovar ripped a single into left field to open the frame, stole second and then tagged up from second and came all the way home when Akron centerfielder Ollie Linton made a circus catch on a Herrera gaper and fell to the turf after lunging to snare the B-Met second baseman’s blast.
Ceciliani singled to open the sixth, raced to third when Rivera went inside/out to ground a single to right and tagged and scored on Xorge Carrillo’s long fly to centerfield.
Tovar’s double base tag was only one of several unusual plays in the Akron series. With B-Met runners on the corners and nobody out on Saturday night, Linton robbed Herrera of another extra base hit, diving for a shot into left center field. Bounding to his feet, Linton fired to first base to double up Nimmo, who was running on contact. Kyle Johnson tagged from third, apparently scoring easily, but when Akron fired the ball from first to third it was ruled Johnson had left too early, thus completing a rare triple play.
Earlier in Saturday’s contest, with runners on first and second an only one out, Tovar sent a screaming line drive to short that was dropped. Akron shortstop Erik Gonzalez flipped the ball to second with the umpire signaling out. The relay to first was too late nailing Tovar, but Tovar and Juan Centeno were sharing the first base bag. Akron’s first sacker Ronny Rodriquez tagged both runners with the first base umpire calling out. Gonzalez then fired to third and the umpire there signaled out for good measure. All the while, Rivera had stayed glued to second base.
B-Met skipper Pedro Lopez protested strenuously and his argument eventually carried the day. Centeno was called out on a force out at second. That freed the base for Rivera who was correct in electing not to run when Gonzalez dropped the ball. Tovar, who had beaten the relay to first on the double play attempt was safe at first. Bizarre!
Greg Peavey, the B-Met starter on Saturday night was also involved in some head scratching baseball. Peavey, who won his 11th game of the year, could not find the plate at the onset throwing his first eight pitches for balls. But, the right-handed B-Met ace finally settled in striking, out Bryson Miles to end the opening frame.
That strikeout would begin a string of eight consecutive Akron outs by strikeout. The strikeouts did not take place one after another, in fact the Rubber Ducks scored a run in the second. But, Peavey struck out the side in the second and the third and fanned the first batter in fourth inning– running eight straight outs by strikeout.
After starting his recent Binghamton stint slowly at the plate, defensive catching whiz Juan Centeno broke out at the plate in the Akron series. Centeno went 4-for4 in Saturday’s game and 6-for-8 in the series to raise his B-Met batting average to .304.
Several Binghamton batters are torching the batter’s box in recent days. Check out these batting averages over each B-Met’s last ten games.
Herrera – .378
Boyd – .333
Ceciliani – .410
Rivera – .444
Tovar – .314
