Hansel Robles continues to enjoy his new baseball environment in the Double-A Eastern League. The 23 year old righthander threw his second five inning scoreless start in as many tries as the B-Mets made it 3 out of 4 over New Hampshire shutting out the Fischer Cats 6-0.
Every start is a new learning lesson for Robles and Sunday’s main topic was pitching out of trouble and he aced the test. He ran into hot water in the home team’s third, after walking the lead-off hitter, Michael Crouse. Then he got his first out, but quickly surrendered back-to-back singles to Kenny Wilson and Jon Berti to load the bases. Robles battled back fanning the Fischer Cat DH Ryan Schimpf and retiring New Hampshire’s cleanup hitting first baseman Brad Glenn on a ground out.
Things got sticky again for Robles in the fifth. Crouse led off the inning with a triple into the right field corner. An 0-2 fastball got away from Robles later in the inning plucking lead-off hitter Kenny Wilson, and with two out, he walked Schimpf to load the bases. But, the young Met pitching prospect had Glenn’s number, fanning the clean-up hitter again to escape harm.
New Hampshire had seen enough of B-Met first baseman/DH Matt Clark during the series. Clark blasted solo home runs in both Friday and Saturday’s game, so the Fischer Cats walked the B-Met slugger every time he came to the plate on Sunday. That was five consecutive base-on-balls.
Clark’s second walk was a lead-off pass to start the B-Met fourth. Fischer Cat starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez then hit consecutive batters, Dustin Lawley and Cory Vaughn, to load the bases. Struggling mightily with his command, Sanchez walked Travis Taijeron to force home the games first run. Xorge Carrillo lofted a fly ball to centerfield deep enough for Lawley to tag and score, and Wilfredo Tovar’s single to right field plated Vaughn for the final run of the inning. The Tovar RBI was a team leading 7th and the versatile B-Met infielder is also leading the team in hitting with a sizzling .370 batting average.
A red-hot Darrel Cecilliani, who has a hit in all seven games he has played in so far this year, led off the seventh with a single to right, then moved to second on Matt Reynolds‘ single, stole third, and raced home on a New Hampshire passed ball. He finished the game 2-5 to raise his batting average to a flashy .367.
Binghamton added two more runs in the ninth with a Lawley double driving home Clark, who had walked for the fifth time. Cory Vaughn’s two bagger scored Lawley for the final B-Met run of the game.
Cody Satterwhite threw two innings of scoreless relief, his fourth consecutive scoreless relief outing on the year. John Church struck out the side in the home eighth with Jon Velasquez turning in his fourth scoreless appearance to close out the contest in the ninth. Velasquez fanned two Fischer Cats.
The win improved the B-Mets record to 7-3 on the young season, leaving them tied with Reading at the top of the Eastern League standings. The B-Mets continue their road trip visiting Portland Sea Dogs who are 6-4 and in third place in the Eastern League.
(Photo: Brooklyn Eagle)
