Subway Series Road Preview 7/14 - 7/16

Bridgewater, New Jersey – The four-day lull in the minor league schedule, the proverbial All-Star break, could not have come at a better time for Somerset after dropping four of five to Reading before having their series finale with the Phils suspended in the bottom of the ninth in a 4-4 tie last Sunday. That game is scheduled to be completed when the Patriots travel to Reading on August 15.

Somerset sits at 5-6 overall in the second half and they now embark on a long nine game road trip beginning in Binghamton with a short three-game plate with the Rumble Ponies (3-8) beginning Friday night at Mirabito Stadium before heading to Hartford for six next week.

All four losses to Reading last week came by a margin of just two runs or less. The offense averaged just four runs per game in the five completed contests and will look to rebound against a Binghamton pitching staff that has posted a cumulative 4.63 ERA (ranked 10 of 12 in EL). Before hitting the road, we will take a look at some of the story lines surrounding the club and look ahead to see what is on tap this weekend.

BIIIIIG CHEESE🧀#Yankees No. 16 prospect Elijah Dunham goes big fly to put us on the board in the 2nd💣 pic.twitter.com/W6SUWAx57F

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) July 9, 2023

Return of Elijah: Prior to opening action against Reading last week, the Yankees opted to promote outfielder Everson Pereira to Triple-A Scranton and sent down Elijah Dunham to Somerset. The 25-year-old outfielder slashed .216/.330/.340 in 69 games for the RailRiders in his first taste of Triple-A action. Since coming back down to Somerset, where he spent all of his 2022 campaign, the Indiana-native has gone 5-for-16 with a homer and walked three times in five games of action.

Still Giving ‘em Fitts: Patriots right-hander Richard Fitts continues to cruise in his first season in the minor league’s upper levels. The Auburn-product had a 6.21 ERA entering action on May 24, but since then, Fitts has pitched to a 2.09 ERA and has fanned 60 batters in 56 innings – the most in minor league baseball over that span. The 23-year-old Fitts has lowered his season ERA to 3.63 and has posted an Eastern League leading nine quality starts in 16 outings. His 89.1 innings are an EL best mark while his 96 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP both ranked second.

Barclay Dominating: Southpaw Edgar Barclay finally gave up an earned run in 2023! It was bound to happen at some point, but the 25-year-old lefty has been about as dominant as could be in his eight appearances this season. Barclay has now struck out five or more batters in four straight multi-inning appearances, including 22 punchouts over his last 12.1 innings of work. The Cal State Bakersfield alum tossed a season-high four innings of relief in the suspended affair with Reading on Sunday and has expressed a willingness to start after doing so a bit in both 2021 and 2022. “I just like to pitch,” Barclay said during a recent media availability. “If they put me in a starting role, I would love it. But I am okay with where I am at now.”

Knowing the Opponent: Lets get ready to rumble! The third, yet abbreviated, installment of the Double-A Subway Series is set to get underway on Friday night for the first of three meetings between Somerset and Binghamton this weekend. The Patriots have gone 8-4 against the Rumble Ponies thus far, including taking five-of-six from them in their last meeting in early May. The two clubs are slated to meet one more time after this weekend when the Mets affiliate comes back to TD Bank Ballpark for six beginning August 8.

The Rumble Ponies have been based offensively by 23-year-old infielder Jose Peroza. The Venezuela-native has blasted 10 homers and driven home 41 runs while slashing a very respectable .273/.376/.494 in 64 games of action. Peroza or any other Binghamton position player ranks amongst their organizations top-30 prospects.

Right-hander Dominic Hamel was the Mets third round draft selection in 2021 and has 14 starts in his first taste of Double-A Action in 2023. The 24-year-old Dallas Baptist-product ranks sixth on the Mets MLB Pipeline top-30 prospect list and his 91 punch outs rank fourth amongst EL qualified hurlers.

Series Probable Pitchers:

Fri. RHP Chase Hampton (0-0, 4.03 ERA) vs. RHP Dominic Hamel (4-4, 4.92 ERA)

Sat. RHP Yoendrys Gomez (0-0, 1.21 ERA) vs. TBD

Sun. RHP Richard Fitts (4-5, 3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Moreno (6-3, 4.38 ERA)

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Beat Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 11th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.