B-Mets infielder T.J. Rivera has been red-hot at the plate.
A 4-1 victory at NYSEG Stadium lifted the Binghamton Mets to thirty games over .500 at 81-51, a pace one game shy of last season’s franchise record setting mark. However, the B-Mets failed to gain ground in the tight Eastern League, Eastern Division pennant race as Portland shutout Reading, 3-0, leaving Binghamton 2.5 games behind with 7 games to play.
Rainy Lara was a model of efficiency on the mound for Binghamton. The tall righthander worked 7.2 innings against New Britain allowing a single run on five hits while walking one and striking out four. Lara enticed Rock Cat hitters to hit the ball in the air retiring 12 batters on pop-ups or fly balls, eight of them hauled down by B-Met center fielder Brandon Nimmo.
New Britain’s Taylor Rodgers matched Lara pitch for pitch through his six innings on the hill. Binghamton eeked out one run off the Rock Cat lefty in the home fourth. With the first two batters retired, T.J. Rivera ripped a double just inside the bag down into the corner down the left field line. Dustin Lawley’s line drive single to left field scored Rivera for the games first run.
Rivera, who singled and went 2-for-3 with a walk, is locked in at home plate. The contest marks Rivera’s sixth straight multiple hit game with the B-Met infielder going 15-23 (.652) over that stretch. Rivera, who scored twice for Binghamton, raised his team leading batting average to .367.
Lara ran into his only real trouble in the sixth. Jorge Polanco’s base hit started a one-out Rock Cat rally. A four pitch walk to Nate Hanson complicated the picture before Mike Gonzalez took an outside fastball to left field to load the bases. Reynoldo Rodriquez lifted a sacrifice fly to Nimmo in centerfield knotting the score at 1-1.
Rodgers worked out of a potential mess in the Binghamton sixth. Brian Burgamy walked to start the frame and advanced to third on Jayce Boyd’s double down the right field line. The B-Mets loaded the bases with nobody out when Rivera walked on four pitches. But Lawley popped out in foul territory near first base, Juan Centeno went down swinging, and a Wilfredo Tovar line drive to right center hung up just enough to allow Eddie Rosario to make a running grab that allowed the Rock Cats to escape the threat unscathed.
The B-Mets squandered another opportunity in the seventh, this time against lefty reliever Mason Melotakis. Brandon Nimmo reached base for the third time safely beating out a one out infield single. Nimmo raced to third when Dilson Herrera ripped a line drive to right field, but Burgamy grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that killed the rally.
A disciplined Jayce Boyd at-bat helped Binghamton turn the tide in the eighth. With a 1-2 count, Boyd fouled off six consecutive pitches delivered by Rock Cat reliever Edgar Ibarra. Ibarra finally hit a persistent Boyd with his 11th pitch in the at bat to set up a B-Met rally. Rivera’s second hit, a single over second base and into right field advanced Boyd to second. Lawley followed ripping a 93-mph fastball for a double off the left field wall, plating Boyd with the game winning run. One out later Tovar lifted a sacrifice fly to score Rivera.
Lawley used some heads-up base running to score the final B-Met run. When Kyle Johnson tapped a dribbler between the pitcher and second base, the speedy B-Met rightfielder beat the throw to first for an infield single. Rock Cat first baseman Mike Gonzalez, believing New Britain had nailed Johnson by a whisker, quietly protested the call, at the same time losing track of Lawley who had advanced to third base. The crafty B-Met outfielder hustled home without drawing a throw to score the final run of the night.
Chase Hutchinson, who pitched to two batters getting the final out in the eighth, picked up his 4th win in relief against a single loss. Cody Saterwhite continues to excel as the Binghamton closer pitching a scoreless ninth to earn his 15th save.
