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Offense Struggles In 6-3 B-Mets Loss

By Former Writers

July 4, 2013 No comments

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Altoona 6, Binghamton 3

The Binghamton Mets were limted to four hits, and fell to the Altoona Curve, 6-3 in the series finale on Wednesday night at NYSEG Stadium.

The loss gave the B-Mets a series a split against the Curve, ending their streak of 10 consecutive series victories.

Binghamton took an early lead against Altoona starter, David Bromberg. Cesar Puello singled with two outs, and Allan Dykstra followed with a two-run home run to give Binghamton a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Altoona responded in the top of the second against Cory Mazzoni. Each of the first batters of the inning reached via the single, but none of them were hit very hard. With the bases loaded, Drew Maggi hit a fly ball into shallow left field. Travis Taijeron came in and called off Wilfredo Tovar at the last moment, but couldn’t make the sliding catch as the ball found the grass for an RBI single.

Mazzoni escaped the rest of the inning without further damage, as the game continued with a 2-1 lead. The lead held until the top of the fifth inning, when Altoona continued to chip away against Mazzoni. The righty retired the first two batters of the inning, but ran into trouble when the top of the order came up.

Mel Rojas Jr. walked with two outs, and drew a lot of attention at first base. The seventh pickoff attempt at first base got away from Dykstra, and allowed Rojas Jr. to move into scoring position. After a long at-bat to Adalberto Santos, he singled into the right-centerfield gap. Gregory Polanco and Dickerson followed with two more singles, and Altoona took a 3-2 advantage in the fifth inning.

In the sixth, Josh Rodriguez started the comeback effort with a double that bounced off of the third base bag for a leadoff double. That was the first base hit in over four innings against Bromberg. Puello and Dykstra struck out, but Taijeron tied the game with an RBI double into the gap to tie the game 3-3.

Mazzoni came back out for the seventh inning, but could not record an out. After two walks and a hit, he left the game with the bases loaded and nobody out. Adam Kolarek entered the game with three inherited runners, and all of them eventually scored. Kolarek first faced Polanco, and he walked with the bases loaded to give Altoona a 4-3 lead.

Dickerson followed by hitting a groundball to shortstop. The B-Mets weren’t able to turn a double play, as the scored won another run.

With runners on the corners and two outs, Dickerson attempted a delayed steal to second base. The throw came to Muno at second base, and after checking the runners he tried to catch Santos napping on third base. The throw however skipped past Rodriguez at third allowing the sixth run of the game to score.

Binghamton’s offense couldn’t solve the Altoona bullpen, as the B-Mets were held hitless over their last three innings. The loss ended Binghamton’s three-game winning streak.

Binghamton (51-30) hits the road for a five-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats beginning on Thursday. RHP Logan Verrett takes the mound for the B-Mets against RHP Marcus Walden for New Hampshire.

Key Stats

Cory Mazzoni: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 6 R, 5 ER, 6 K

Adam Kolarek: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Ryan Fraser: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB

Chase Huchingson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Allan Dykstra: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 RBI, 1 R

Travis Taijeron: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI

(Team Report)