Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (24-19) 6, Syracuse Mets (24-22) 5

• RHP Chris Mazza (0-3, 3.46 ERA): 7 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 6 K
• LHP P.J. Conlon (0-1, 9.00 ERA): 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB
• RHP Joe Zanghi (0-0, 27.00 ERA): 0.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB
• RHP Stephen Nogosek (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 1.1 IP, BB, K

Chris Mazza started for Syracuse and put forth one of his best efforts all year. Mazza’s only real mistake was a solo home run that allowed in the second inning. Aside from the home run, Mazza cruised through his seven innings pitched as the RailRiders only had one runner in scoring position while he was on the mound. Mazza handed the bullpen a 4-1 lead when he left after the seventh inning. Unfortunately the bullpen was unable to close out the game.

It had been a full week since P.J. Conlon last pitched for Syracuse and his last outing was not a promising one. Last week, Conlon allowed four runs across two innings pitched on three hits and two walks. Tonight he did not fare much better, as he yielded a home run to the first batter he faced. Conlon then induced a fly out to the next batter, before allowing two hits and walking a batter to load the bases before being pulled from the game.

Joe Zanghi was then asked to get out of the jam, in his first appearance with Syracuse this season. Zanghi promptly allowed a grand slam, got one out, then reloaded the bases after allowing a hit and a pair of walks. Stephen Nogosek had to come in to get Syracuse out of the eighth inning, striking out the first batter he faced. Nogosek stayed on and pitched a scoreless ninth inning as well, in what was his first appearance with Syracuse after being promoted with Zanghi earlier in the day.

• CF Gregor Blanco (.238/.317/.381): 2-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI, K
• DH Danny Espinosa (.260/.329/.453): 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2B, K
• 2B Arismendy Alcantara (.271/.350/.393): 3-for-4, 2 R

Gregor Blanco started off the scoring for Syracuse with a lead-off home run in the first inning. Later, Dilson Herrera doubled to lead off the fourth inning and was driven in by David Thompson on a sac fly. Danny Espinosa doubled home Arismendy Alcantara in the fifth, before Blanco drove in his second run of the game with a base hit in sixth.

After the bullpen allowed five runs in the top of eighth inning to relinquish the lead, Syracuse was able to get one run back in bottom half on a hit by Espinosa, but they were unable to overcome the two-run deficit.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (26-16) 6, Trenton Thunder (27-18) 0

• 3B Will Toffey (.218/.386/.336): 1-for-4, R, RBI, K
• C Ali Sanchez (.255/.321/.284): 1-for-2, 2 R, RBI, BB
• LF Jason Krizan (.182/..282/.351): 1-for-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, K

Binghamton first scored a run in the third inning, when Andres Gimenez drove in Ali Sanchez with a base hit. The Rumble Ponies went on to have a five-run fifth inning, which was capped off with a three-run homer by Jason Krizan.

Each hitter in the Rumble Ponies lineup found their way on base except for designated hitter Barrett Barnes. It was a rough night altogether for Barnes, as he took home the golden sombrero for striking out in all four of his at-bats.

• RHP Adonis Uceta (1-2, 2.29 ERA): 3 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K
• RHP Joshua Torres (2-0, 6.14 ERA): 3 IP, H, 2 K
• RHP Ryley Gilliam (2-0, 1.99 ERA): 2 IP, 2 K
• RHP Matt Blackham (1-0, 2.12 ERA): 1 IP, 2 K

In what was essentially a bullpen game, four Rumble Ponies combined to pitch a shutout. Adonis Uceta was the de facto starting pitcher for Binghamton and he worked around a lot of traffic to not allow any runs through three innings.

Joshua Torres was next up for the Rumble Ponies and he too pitched three scoreless innings. By doing so, Torres took nearly two runs off his ERA as he came into the day with a 7.71 ERA and left with a 6.14 ERA. Staked to a 6-0 lead, Ryley Glliam and Matt Blackham combined to pitch three perfect innings to close out the game.

St. Lucie Mets (24-23) 5, Lakeland Flying Tiger (20-27) 4

• 2B Blake Tiberi (.281/.356/.346) 2-for-5, R, RBI, 2 SB
• RF Quinn Brodey (.265/.307/.388) 4-for-4, R, RBI
• SS Cody Bohanek (.243/.389/.320) 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B, 2 K

Shortstop Cody Bohanek came through for St. Lucie out of the nine-hole in the lineup, by hitting an RBI double to get the Mets on the board in the fourth inning. Bohanek then scored on a base hit by Blake Tiberi, his second hit of the day, to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

Quinn Brodey had a great day at the plate, going 4-for-4, while using his speed to manufacture a run in the fifth inning. After getting a on base with a single, Brodey stole second base and then made it around to score on a hit by Manny Rodriguez. St. Lucie added two more runs in the sixth inning, as Carlos Cortes doubled home Tiberi and then scored a run of his own on another hit by Brodey.

• RHP Walker Lockett (1-0, 5.14 ERA): 5 IP, 3 H, 4 K
• RHP Carlos Hernandez (0-2, 5.96 ERA): 2 IP, BB
• RHP Luc Rennie (3-2, 4.66 ERA): 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB
• LHP Andrew Mitchell (0-0, 6.75 ERA): 0.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K
• RHP Ezequiel Zabaleta (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 0.2 IP, SV

Walker Lockett made his second start of the year for St. Lucie and he fared much better tonight than he did last Sunday. In that start, Lockett did not make it into the third inning after allowing four runs in two innings pitched. Tonight, Lockett was in complete control as he only allowed three singles across his five innings pitched, without allowing a run. After Lockett, Carlos Hernandez came in and gave St. Lucie two great innings of scoreless relief.

The Mets struggled to get good pitching from there, as it took three relievers to finish off the last two innings. Luc Rennie retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth inning, before losing control and walking the next two batters. Andrew Mitchell came in for Rennie, but he did not have great control either, walking the first batter he faced to load the bases. Mitchell then allowed a bases-clearing double, and would walk another batter before getting a strike out to end the inning. Mitchell was asked to pitch the ninth, but after recording one out, he allowed three-straight hits and was pulled from the game. Ezequiel Zabaleta came in and induced two fly outs to earn the save as St. Lucie narrowly escaped with a 5-4 victory.

Columbia Fireflies (19-29) 6, Greenville Drive (19-28) 2

• RHP Willy Tavares (3-5, 4.29 ERA): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 8 K
• RHP Tylor Megill (1-0, 0.00 ERA): 2 IP, H, 2 BB, K
• RHP Jose Moreno (2-0, 2.12 ERA): 1 IP, K

Willy Tavares was dealing in his start for the Fireflies, striking out eight batters across six innings pitched. Tavares ran into some bad luck in the third inning, when Greenville second baseman Kervin Suarez went first to third on a ground out. That great baserunning then allowed him to score on a sac fly. Tavares would allow one more run in the fifth inning, which was the only inning he yielded multiple hits.

Tylor Megill came in and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, before running into a little trouble in the eighth. Megill allowed hit and a pair of walks in that inning, but was able to work around the bases-loaded jam without giving up a run. Jose Moreno pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out the game for the Fireflies.

• CF Hansel Moreno (.306/.405/.500) 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, K
• DH Mark Vientos (.257/.312/.408) 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI
• 3B Shervyen Newton (.155/.234/.237) 2-for-3, HR, RBI, BB, K

Mark Vientos gave his team an early lead in the first inning by hitting a two-run homer, which was his fifth of the season. Right fielder Brian Sharp hit a solo home run of his own in the fourth inning, putting him ahead of Vientos for the team-lead in home runs on the season with six.

In the fifth inning, Ronny Mauricio and Hansel Moreno hit back-to-back doubles to lead things off, with both of them coming around to score. Columbia scored one more run in the eighth inning, when Shervyen Newton hit the Fireflies third home run of the game, putting them up 6-2.