Binghamton 10, Akron 2
–Darin Gorski baffled the Akron Aeros for seven innings and the Binghamton Mets unleashed a 13-hit attack in a 10-2 victory on Saturday night at Canal Park. Cory Vaughn and Xorge Carrillo each drove in three runs to aid the B-Mets in their 82nd win of the season, matching a franchise record.
Gorski dominated through the first seven innings of the contest, facing just one over the minimum. The southpaw surrendered a one-out single to Tyler Holt in the second and retired 17 straight Aeros. He struck out seven along the way and tossed ten pitches or fewer in four different innings, needing just 70 in total to get through seven shutout frames.
Binghamton gave Gorski a three-run lead before he even took the hill. They jumped on Major League rehabber Brett Myers and took advantage of Akron’s shaky defense in the first. The troubles started early for Akron as second baseman Ronny Rodriguez booted the first ball in play, allowing Danny Muno to reach safely. After Josh Rodriguez punched a single to right, Vaughn smoked a single up the middle, giving the B-Mets a 1-0 lead.
A single by Allan Dykstra loaded the bases for Travis Taijeron, who doubled Binghamton’s lead with a groundout to first. Vaughn came home with the B-Mets’ third run of the inning when shortstop Jose Ramirez threw away Carrillo’s grounder. Reliever Enosil Tejeda replaced Myers after the second misplay and induced Wilfredo Tovar to bounce into a double play to end the frame.
The B-Mets tacked on another run in the second against Will Roberts. Following a walk to Muno, Rodriguez poked a triple into the right-field corner. The three-bagger, his first since May 30, gave Binghamton a 4-0 advantage.
Binghamton blew the game open with a six-run sixth inning. The visitors sent ten men to the plate, pounded out ten hits and stretched their lead to ten. The B-Mets opened the frame with four consecutive singles and highlighted the frame with a pair of two-run singles from Vaughn and Carrillo.
Gorski’s magnificent run came to an end in the eighth when he walked Holt to start the inning. After a single and a two-out walk, Jose Ramirez ended Gorski’s night by lining a two-run single to left field.
Hamilton Bennett took over and fanned Ronny Rodriguez to end the inning and returned with a perfect ninth inning, securing Binghamton’s first win of the series.
Gorksi (5-1) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks over 7-2/3 innings in the win. Myers (1-2) was charged for three runs (one earned) and threw just 16 pitches to six batters in the loss. Roberts allowed seven runs on seven hits over 4-2/3 innings and did not factor into the decision.
The B-Mets (82-51) conclude their four-game series against the Aeros Sunday afternoon at 2:05 PM. RHP Greg Peavey takes the hill against RHP Cody Anderson.
Key Stats
Cory Vaughn: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 R
Xorge Carrillo: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 3 RBI, 1 R
Josh Rodriguez: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 R
Richard Lucas: 2-for-5, 1 R
Darin Gorski: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 7 K
Hamilton Bennett: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
(Team Report)
Gorski is an interesting case. Is his ceiling just AA/AAA, or can he get guys out in a ML pen? He didn´t do too well in AAA (if I remember correctly), but maybe that´s just a Vegas effect. Maybe he´s one of those guys who goes from AA to the ML pen as a long reliever or middleman.
Moving to Vegas was one of the worst moves the Mets could make. They have so many talented pitchers in their system and now its hard to evaluate if they are major league caliber because the air in Vegas makes it so hard to grip the ball and really easy to hit it out of the park.
Gorski battles. His fastball can touch 90 and 91 but generally arrives between 86 and 89. He moves the ball around the edges of the plate well and has a decent breaking ball. He tends to get a lot of fly ball outs. The key for Darin is pitch location. When he keeps the ball low, he is effective. When his pitch elevates it spells trouble. He was the FSL Player of the Year two summers ago and had a decent year in Binghamton last season before an early season injury knocked him off the mound early this season. In a baseball world with few left-handed pitching options, yes, indeed, Gorski is an interesting case.