Binghamton Holds On to Beat Harrisburg, 3-2
HARRISBURG, PA - The Binghamton Mets took an early lead, and held on to beat the Harrisburg Senators, 3-2 on Saturday night at Metro Bank Park. Logan Verrett won his 10th game of the season, and Binghamton picked up their 20th series win in the process.
The B-Mets didn't waste any time in getting on the board against Nathan Karns. Danny Muno led off the game with a single up the middle, and Travis d'Arnaud blasted a two-run home run over the left field wall to give the B-Mets and early 2-0 lead.
In the third, the top of the order had their way with Karns once again. After Muno walked to start the frame, d'Arnaud hit a double into the right-centerfield gap to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Josh Rodriguez followed with a deep fly ball to right field on his first pitch, bringing home Muno on the sacrifice fly.
Meanwhile, Logan Verrett picked up right where Greg Peavey left off from Friday night. Verrett faced the minimum through 4.2 innings, and struck out seven of the first 14 batters he faced.
That streak ended when Jerad Head reached on a swinging bunt down the third base line with two outs in the fifth. Brian Jeroloman followed with a line drive deep into the left-centerfield gap. Both Darrell Ceciliani and Alonzo Harris dove for it, but they collided and Jeroloman ended up with an RBI triple. Destin Hood made it three hits in a row against Verrett when he hit a line drive down the left field line. Ceciliani made another diving attempt, but it tipped off of his glove and Hood sprinted all the way to third base for another RBI triple. Verrett escaped further damage by forcing Karns to fly out, and left the game in line for the victory.
Chasen Bradford relieved Verrett, and worked around two singles in a scoreless sixth. He returned the hill in the seventh, and worked a 1-2-3 frame to preserve the lead. Chase Huchingson took the hill in the eighth, and retired the first two batters before allowing back-to-back singles. With the tying run in scoring position, he got Carlos Rivero to fly out to right field and end the threat.
Offensively, the B-Mets became quiet against Karns after their early offense. The righthander only allowed one hit after the third inning, and struck out 11 batters in the process. After the third, Binghamton did not put a runner in scoring position against Karns, who left the game after eight innings. Tyler Herron replaced Karns in the ninth, and worked around a double from Travis Taijeron in a scoreless frame.
In the bottom of the ninth, Binghamton turned things over to closer Jeff Walters. He allowed a two-out infield single to Jeroloman, but got a flyout from Destin Hood to end the game. Harrisburg outhit the B-Mets 8-6, but stranded the tying run in scoring position in three different innings.
The B-Mets (69-43) look for the sweep over the Senators (61-53) on Sunday afternoon. They send RHP Noah Syndergaard to the mound to face RHP Rob Gilliam for Harrisburg. First pitch is set for 2:00 PM with the Horizons Federal Credit Union Pregame Show starting at 1:45 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF.
POSTGAME NOTES: There was a 35 minute delay before the first pitch of the game…d'Arnaud's home run was the first Binghamton home run in seven games…Binghamton is 20-15 in one-run game…The B-Mets have never trailed in this series
Individual tickets for all 71 Binghamton Mets 2013 home games are on sale now. Visit the NYSEG Stadium box office during regular operating hours, purchase them online at www.bmets.com or call the office at (607)723-METS.
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