The Binghamton Rumble Ponies opened their weeklong series against the Harrisburg Senators, The Washington Nationals Double-A affiliate, with a 7-3 win. Brandon Sproat got the start against Kyle Luckham.

Brandon Sproat continued his excellent play for Binghamton, sitting down the first three Senators in order, notably striking out MLB Pipeline’s #7 prospect, Dylan Crews, on four pitches.  

The Rumble Ponies charged out of the gates quickly on Harrisburg, with each of the first four Binghamton batters reaching base either by drawing a walk or hitting a single. Amongst that group, Rowdey Jordan and Kevin Parada earned RBIs, driving in Matt Rudick and Alex Ramirez, respectively. The following three batters struck out and flew out twice, stranding Jordan and Parada on the corners. 

The only trouble of the night for Sproat would come in the second inning, where he allowed a lead-off single to Brady House. House would quickly advance to second on a wild pitch and score on an RBI single by Israel Pineda. Sproat didn’t allow the shaky inning to get to him and prevented any more runs the rest of his outing. 

The Rumble Ponies got their lead-off man on for the second consecutive inning, this time Jeremiah Jackson, via an infield single. Rudick would single to right field. The Ponies’ aggressive baserunning got Jackson to third and Rudick to second safely. An RBI fielder’s choice by Alex Ramirez scored Jackson, doubling Binghamton’s lead to 3-1. 

Pitching from both sides would take over the game, neither ball club would score runs until a Binghamton rally in the sixth inning. Singles by Ryan Clifford and JT Schwartz put Jackson at the plate with runners on the corners. Jackson would fly out but started an awkward series of events – center fielder Crews threw home to prevent a Clifford score, but the runner on third never left. Instead, Schwartz on first base tagged up and tried to advance, but an arrant throw by the catcher, Pineda, sent the ball back into centerfield, scoring Clifford. The next batter, Wyatt Young, singled to right field, bringing home Schwartz and boosting the score to 5-1. Rudick would jump on the laboring Luckham, hitting a triple and scoring Young. Luckham was promptly replaced by Ty Tice, who earned a ground out and ended the inning. 

.@reidbrignac waves and you go!

RBI triple for Matt Rudick, and Wyatt Young is safe at home ? pic.twitter.com/if3Hlold9k

— Binghamton Rumble Ponies (@RumblePoniesBB) May 28, 2024

Nolan Clenney replaced Sproat in the top of the eighth inning after going seven innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. It was Sproat’s second consecutive seven-inning effort, lowering his Binghamton ERA to an elite 1.89. Clenney would follow Sproat’s lead, running through the Senators in the eighth. The Rumble Ponies added an extra insurance run in the same inning after a Clifford lead-off double and Schwartz RBI single. 

Clenney conceded two runs in the top of the ninth inning after the meat of the Harrisburg batting order started stringing together hits. Still, the Rumble Ponies’ offense provided enough cushion for the comfortable 7-3 victory. 

Kevin Parada recorded his second straight two-hit game for Binghamton and has slashed .241/.304./.446 in May after his dreadful start to the year. This month, the 2022 first-round draft pick has also collected 20 hits (nine for extra-base hits). After a slow start since being promoted from High-A Brooklyn, Ryan Clifford hopes to build off his first Double-A home run last week and Monday’s booming double (113 MPH off the bat). 

OH and in case you missed it: 113 MPH off the bat from @ryanclifford21 ?‍? pic.twitter.com/oo3YYMHlWa

— Binghamton Rumble Ponies (@RumblePoniesBB) May 28, 2024

BOX SCORE

Hitters

C Kevin Parada – 2-for-4, RBI (25), K (.682 OPS)
CF Matt Rudick – 2-for-3, R, 3B, RBI (20), BB, K (.832 OPS)
LF Ryan Clifford – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B (.536 OPS)
RF Alex Ramirez – 1-for-5, R, RBI (22), K (.669 OPS)

Pitchers

RHP Brandon Sproat (1.89 ERA) – 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 93 pitches/63 strikes
RHP Nolan Clenney (8.80 ERA) – 2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Brandon Sproat has shown the potential of being a top-tier pitching prospect in all of minor league baseball, and Monday’s performance was another demonstration of that. Sproat only allowed six baserunners in seven innings on the mound, lowering his season WHIP to 1.04. Going into Monday’s contest, the University of Florida alum had an outrageous 26.1% K-BB%, proving his command/walk issues are a thing of the past. On top of his elite strikeout stuff, Sproat has held opposing batters to a .166 average and a .537 OPS in 2024.

He has always been known as a player who could rise through the minor league ranks quickly, but is a Triple-A promotion this season out of the question for Sproat?

ON DECK

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (24-20) continue their series against the Senators (27-19) on Wednesday at 11:05 P.M. Starting pitchers have yet to be announced for the game.