BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The Portland Sea Dogs cut a big deficit in half when they batted around in the sixth inning Wednesday night.
When the Sea Dogs left the bases full, however, the Binghamton Mets immediately regained command.
Zach Lutz hit a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the sixth to help the Mets break the Sea Dogs’ three-game winning streak with a 9-3 romp.
“We made a little run at them, but they came right back at us,” Sea Dogs Manager Arnie Beyeler said. “They swung the bats.”
Lutz and Carlos Guzman led a 13-hit offense as the Mets moved back in front of the Sea Dogs, a night after falling out of second place in the Eastern League Eastern Division.
Lutz was 3 for 3 with three runs scored and three driven in.
“He had a double down the right-field line, which is a great sign,” Mets Manager Tim Teufel said of the right-handed Lutz. “Then, he really turned on a fastball against the wind for the home run.”
Guzman was 3 for 4, with a two-run double in the fifth that followed an RBI double by Luke Montz and completed a three-run inning to give Binghamton a 6-0 lead.
Pitching changes earlier in the day did not work out for the Sea Dogs, who still managed a winning road trip, going 4-2. After taking today off, Portland opens a three-game series against New Britain at 6 p.m. Friday.
“Anytime you can make a swing like that and wind up winning on the road, you’re doing something right,” Beyeler said. “In the grand scheme of things, we played well. We played hard in some tough weather conditions.”
Those conditions Wednesday included 20-mph gusts that dropped the wind chill factor to below 40 degrees.
Binghamton threatened to blow open the game but left five runners, including four in scoring position, while scoring twice in the first and once in the third.
The Sea Dogs hit into three double plays in the first five innings but reduced the six-run Binghamton lead by scoring three times in the sixth.
Eddie Kunz (2-2) carried a shutout into the inning but did not retire a batter. He walked Jason Place on four pitches, hit Nate Spears with a pitch and allowed an infield single to Ray Chang to load the bases.
Jose De La Torre came on in relief and also was unable to retire any of the three batters he faced. He walked two and threw a wild pitch. Che-Hsuan Lin, who finished 3 for 4, then singled to center to score the third run.
Roy Merritt retired three straight with the bases loaded to get out of trouble.
Casey Kelly took the loss in his first decision for the Sea Dogs. Kelly, Eammon Portice and T.J. Large each gave up three runs while working fewer than three full innings.
Kyle Weiland, at one time listed as Wednesday’s starter, was placed on the disabled list before the game, but Kelly pitched on what would be his normal day in the rotation.
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