Burdick seeing double for Rumble Ponies

Dale Burdick was so happy he broke out of an 0-for-17 funk to begin his Double-A tenure that he decided to replicate the powerful results. Doing so in the same inning instantly put him into rarefied air among professional baseball players.
The Mets prospect blasted a pair of homers in a 10-run fifth inning and tied his career high with three RBIs in Double-A Binghamton's 12-4 win at New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. The 21-year-old added a single to notch his fourth career three-hit game and first since Aug. 25 with Class A Columbia.

"The first one I hit, I knew it was gone, but I didn't think the second one was going over," Burdick said. "As I rounded first, I saw the outfielders slow down and start to walk and I heard the crowd, too, so I knew it then."

The Rumble Ponies trailed, 4-1, heading to the fifth. Burdick began the rally with a leadoff homer over the wall in left field. Binghamton batted around and added six runs when the Tennessee native stepped into the box again and slugged his second roundtripper of the inning, a two-run shot to left-center.

Predictably, Burdick and his teammates were pretty thrilled.
"The guys were laughing when I came back into the dugout," the infielder said. "They're a great group and all of them were happy for me. I was called up to Binghamton about two weeks ago and I'm not one of the everyday guys, so I try and make the most of my opportunities when I can. But I spent a lot of time with many of them in Spring Training and they've always been behind me. I had a big smile when I was rounding third both times, so they joked with me and had a good time with it."
A 2014 40th-round pick, Burdick already has established a career high with four homers. He hit two with Class A Advanced St. Lucie prior to the promotion but said he knows what his role is, and for now, it doesn't include being an everyday player.
Box score
"It's tough, especially when you're still learning as a young player at a high-level league," Burdick said. "I watch the game, stay loose and avoid the mentality that just because you're not in at that time, you won't get in at all. A few years ago, I'd get down if I wasn't playing every day. I'm older, more mature and now I know the routine. I try and stay even-keeled, focused and loose, so I can always be ready."
Burdick had two shots at a third homer, but he singled to left in the seventh and lined out to left in the ninth. 
"I was trying for it," he said. "When I got up again, I heard someone yell to 'Go for three!' so I thought, 'Why not?' It wasn't meant to be, but it was a good five ABs and I'll take that." 
Jio Mier supplied the big blow for the Rumble Ponies with his first career grand slam, while Kevin Taylor homered, doubled and drove in two runs. Mets No. 16 prospect Luis Guillorme contributed two hits and two RBIs and Patrick Biondi singled three times.
The Rumble Ponies matched a franchise record with nine hits in the fifth inning. The 10 runs were one short of the franchise mark, also set in New Hampshire in 2013. 

Donovan Hand (1-0) surrendered four runs -- three earned -- on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts in a season-high seven innings to pick up his first win since returning to Binghamton.
Blue Jays No. 18 prospectFrancisco Rios (3-3) was reached for eight runs on seven hits and a career-high six walks while fanning one over 4 1/3 innings for the Fisher Cats.