BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Working his way out of a tough first five weeks of the season was all about timing for Jonathan Roof.
“It wasn’t my swing; it was just timing,” Roof said after continuing his recent resurgence Tuesday night by going 2 for 4 and hitting his first home run of the season during the Portland Sea Dogs’ 8-5 win over the Binghamton Mets in the opener of a six-game trip.
“With my leg kick, I had a little trouble getting my foot down.”
Roof has raised his average 38 points to .217 in the last 10 games.
First, he put together a seven-game hitting streak. Then, after the streak ended Monday, he brought out the power for the first time this season.
Roof and Blake Tekotte gave the Sea Dogs home runs from the bottom of the order in the third inning after Binghamton starter Gabriel Ynoa set down the first seven batters.
“I stuck to my approach, got the pitch, and fortunately for me, it left the ball park,” said Roof, who had two hits and scored twice. “It’s pretty cool that Blake hit a home run afterward.
“That’s pretty special. It’s not too many times that you get to go back to back.”
The first back-to-back shots by the Sea Dogs since June 15 of last season came from unlikely sources. Tekotte and Roof had combined for just one homer in 226 at-bats this season.
It was a welcome outburst for a team that entered the game tied for 10th among the 12 Eastern League teams in home runs.
The homers weren’t Portland’s only examples of good timing.
While Binghamton piled up 15 hits, three more than Portland, the Sea Dogs came through in key moments, stringing together 10 hits in two scoring innings.
The back-to-back homers began a three-run third, and Portland batted around in a five-run seventh.
The defense turned four double plays – each in a different way – and Portland’s pitchers got three inning-ending strikeouts.
“Our pitchers did a great job minimizing the damage,” Roof said. “And, the double plays – our defense and pitching put it together when we needed it.”
The Mets got hits from two of their first three batters in the first inning, but neither got to second base. No. 2 hitter Jared King grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Binghamton loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, trying to cut into the three-run deficit.
Joe Gunkel, who fought through nine hits in five innings to improve to 2-0, went to the plate to start an inning-ending, 1-2-3 double play.
Third baseman Oscar Tejeda helped shut down two potential rallies.
Josh Rodriguez led off the sixth for Binghamton with a homer to make it 3-1. Jayce Boyd and Dustin Lawley followed with singles to chase Gunkel.
Tejeda then fielded a grounder, stepped on third and threw across the diamond for a double play.
The play by Tejeda became even bigger when Aderlin Rodriguez followed with an RBI double.
Binghamton got two runners on against Pat Light in the bottom of the ninth.
Tejeda started an around-the-horn double play to end the game.
Jantzen Witte drove in three runs for the Sea Dogs, singling in one to finish off the third and doubling in two more in the middle of the seventh-inning outburst.
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