PORTLAND, Maine – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (21-23) secured a series victory with their fifth double-digit run game of August, defeating the Portland Sea Dogs (23-21), 14-2, on Saturday night at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field.
Binghamton jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the third inning against left-hander Michael Sansone (L, 3-3). On the first pitch of the inning, Kevin Parada clubbed a solo home run, his third over his last 10 games.
Right fielder Yohairo Cuevas singled, flipping the order to designated hitter Mitch Voit, who doubled off the wall in left field, and it set up second baseman Émilien Pitre, who delivered a sacrifice fly. One batter later, shortstop Jefferson Rojas slapped an RBI single to make it 3-0. It was his 10th RBI with Binghamton over nine games.
The inning was highlighted by first baseman Billy Amick, who clubbed a two-run home run, his 30th blast of the year, and it raised his RBI total to 92. Amick ranks among Minor League Baseball: T-7th in HR and 6th with 92 RBI.
Binghamton right-hander Gabe Davis pitched 3.0 scoreless innings before getting pulled in the fourth inning with one out. Davis walked shortstop Yoeilin Cespedes and was taken out for right-hander Justin Armbruester. The first batter he saw was second baseman Mason White, who hit a fly ball to left fielder Corey Collins, who dropped it, and it brought Cespedes across.
With two outs, third baseman Ahbram Liendo beat out a single to score White, but was then picked off at first by Armbruester to end the frame. Both runs were not earned by Armbruester and Davis.
Binghamton added a run in the fifth inning after Sansone allowed five runs over 4.0 innings. Against left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland, third baseman Jacob Reimer doubled with one out, and with two outs, center fielder John Bay doubled to score Reimer to make it 6-2 Binghamton.
Reimer has chalked up four straight two-hit games, all in the series against Portland, and has 11 hits in his first eight games back with Binghamton.
Wu-Yelland lost control in the sixth inning as he walked four batters and Binghamton scored four runs on just two hits. With the bases loaded, Pitre tallied a two-run single. Two batters later, Reimer walked a run in, and Amick brought in a run on a fielder's choice to give the Ponies a 10-2 advantage.
Binghamton right-hander Brendan Girton pitched a scoreless seventh inning for Binghamton, and Portland right-hander Steven Brooks did the same.
The Rumble Ponies took a 12-2 lead in the eighth inning against Brooks. Pitre reached on an error from first baseman Jack Winnay and Reimers singled. Then with two outs, Bay cashed in his second RBI of the night, and he scored Reimer as well on a throwing error from right fielder Tyler McDonough that went into the third-base dugout.
Right-hander Carlos Guzman (W, 4-1) pitched 2.0 perfect innings for Binghamton in the seventh and eighth innings with one strikeout.
In the ninth inning, Binghamton added to their lead. Parada walked, and Voit was hit by a pitch before Rojas delivered an RBI single to score Parada. Then Voit crossed on a passed ball to make it 14-2. Right-hander Bryce Jenkins pitched a scoreless frame in the bottom of the ninth for the second time this series.
Binghamton scored in double digits for the fifth time in August. Before this month, the Rumble Ponies only hit that mark 11 times, and now the 12 wins in August are the most wins in a month for the Ponies all year.
The Rumble Ponies close out a six-game series with the Portland Sea Dogs (Double-A, Boston Red Sox) on Sunday at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m and the game will be broadcast on MiLB.TV, News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM, and on the WNBF News Radio App.
Postgame Notes: Voit reached base five times and tallied his eighth multi-hit game (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, HBP)...Amick leads Double-A with 30 HR (1-for-6, R, HR, RBI)...Bay has 10 RBI over his 17 games (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI)...Reimer has 8 hits in the series with four straight multi-hit games (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB)...Parada's third homer over last 10 games (1-for-3, 3 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB)...Rojas 31st multi-hit game at Double-A (2-for-5, R, RBI, BB)...Pitre three RBI game (1-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI)...Girton (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO)...Guzman (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO).