The fans came to TD Bank Ballpark tonight, expecting fireworks post-game. They received a lucky break; they were treated to them in the first few frames.

Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells, and T.J Rumfield all went deep against Rumble Ponies’ starter José Chacin in the first two frames. The early four-run deficit was too much for Binghamton to overcome, as they fell to the Somerset Patriots 4-3.

Ponies’ OF Matt Rudick opened up the game with a well-struck double down the left-field line. A 13th-rounder in 2021, Rudick’s performed well this season. As of Friday, May 5, Rudick rounds out of the top-5 in the Eastern League in OBP while his .905 OPS leads the team. Binghamton left Rudick on base, going down 1-2-3.

On the pitching side, manager Reid Brignac gave the ball to right-hander Chacin. The 26-year-old Chacin, who pitched for both the Mets’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates this season, retired Trey Sweeney via a foul pop-up to kick off his night, but any potential relief was short-lived.

Jasson Dominguez, the Yankees’ top prospect, then slammed a Chacin offering loudly off of the signs above the yellow line in right field, putting the Patriots on the board. With the crowd still on their feet, Austin Wells added to the excitement by following Dominguez with his own trip around his bases, showcasing some impressive opposite-field power.

Chacin then retired Everson Pereira and  Jeisson Rosario to limit the damage. The Ponies were retired in order in the second, but Chacin’s night didn’t get any easier. After Tyler Hardman opened the frame with a double, T.J Rumfield drove him in with his own shot to right field, clearing the signage.

Chacin would settle from there, dancing in-and-out of trouble during his five innings of work. His fastball got stronger as the night went on, starting in the 89-92 mph range and touching 93-94 mph in his later frames. Despite a shaky start, Chacin overall kept Binghamton in the game.

Brandon McIlwain kicked off the top of the fifth with a walk. The following batter, Hayden Senger advanced him to second with a well-struck single. Luke Ritter then grounded into a double-play, eliminating Senger, but allowing McIlwain to scoot over to third. With two outs, Tanner Murphy appeared to strike out to end the inning, but a passed ball on a swinging strike three allowed McIlwain to scamper home.

The Ponies tacked on another run in the sixth. Against reliever Indigo Diaz, Rowdy Jordan drew a one-out walk. The 2021 11th-round draftee has improved as the season progressed; his 0-for-2 night ended his five-game hit streak, but he’s still posted a .300/.458/.619 slash-line over his last six games.

Following Jordan, JT Schwartz shot an RBI triple down the right-field line, halving Binghamton’s deficit. A personal favorite, the UCLA product entered the 2021 draft with some of the best batted-ball metrics in the class, producing .377/.481/.561 line during his two collegiate seasons. Schwartz’s gotten a tough draw of it in professional ball; both his previous home park of Marmoides Park and current home park of Mirabito Stadium generally deflate offensive performance.

Alex Valverde, one of the Mets’ selections during the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft in 2021, looked impressive. The righty relieved Chacin, hurling two scoreless frames. 16 out of his 19 pitches came in for strikes.

Hunter Parsons, who received some time with the Mets’ MLB club this spring, was given the difficult assignment for the eighth. The righty quickly retired Sweeney on a pop-up, rung up Dominguez on a high 91-mph heater, and induced a line-out from Wells.

He’s twirled 8 1/3 scoreless frames since giving up four runs in his season-opening outing. His fastball sat in the low 90s, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get Major-League consideration soon.

Senger, Luke Ritter, and Tanner Murphy kicked off the ninth against Patriots’ RHP Justin Wilson. Wilson struggled with his command early, plunking Senger on the helmet and walking Ritter to kick off his outing. After Murphy struck out, Branden Fryman was then lifted for pinch-hitter Dariel Gomez.

Gomez lofted a can-of-corn into left field, but Wilson bizarrely threw the live ball into the Patriots’ dugout after believing time was granted, advancing each runner two bases. Suddenly, the tying run was only 90 feet with the hot-hitting Rudick coming to the dish. Rudick smacked a Wilson offering right on the nose, but directly at Patriots’ second baseman Eduardo Torrealba to close out the game. Binghamton fell to 11-12 with the loss

The Ponies will conclude their series against the Patriots today at 1:05 P.M. Luis Moreno (2-1, 7.06 ERA) is their scheduled starter. He threw 5 1/3 innings of five-run ball in the series opener.