BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — When the Portland Sea Dogs rolled into Binghamton for a seven-run victory Thursday night, they were just getting started.
The Sea Dogs began their trip by scoring the first 18 runs of their series with the Mets.
Binghamton eventually broke through but never threatened the Sea Dogs, who won 11-3 on Friday night.
Ryan Court had four hits and drove in four runs, and the Sea Dogs had six players with at least two hits.
Aneury Tavarez joined Court with four hits. Jake Romanski matched him in producing a three-run homer among four RBI.
Court doubled and scored the game’s first run in the second inning. His three-run homer made it 5-0 in the third.
After driving in another run with a single in the fifth, Court scored on Romanski’s three-run homer for an 11-0 lead.
Tavarez went 4 for 5 with a triple, double, two runs and an RBI. Romanski finished with two hits and a sacrifice fly. He also threw out both runners that tried to steal against him.
The Sea Dogs scored in each inning from the second through the sixth and totaled 18 hits.
Cole Sturgeon, Yoan Moncada and Nate Freiman each added two hits.
Sturgeon had a sacrifice to help manufacture the game’s first run before it became clear that one-run strategies would not matter. He also scored a run.
Freiman went 2 for 5 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. He’s hit .330 for the last 29 games to raise his average from .231 to .280. In the first two games of the series he has five hits, three for extra bases, driving in four runs.
Manager Carlos Febles said Thursday night that the 6-foot-8 Freiman has brought more than a big bat to the team since being signed out of the independent Atlantic League.
“He brings a lot to the table,” Febles said. “He brings experience. He brings leadership.
“He’s a very good player. It’s been a pleasure to have a guy who brings out that to a young team. He’s always willing to help a young guy.”
Now Freiman is helping himself, too.
After playing 116 games for the Oakland A’s in 2013-2014, Freiman spent 2015 in Triple-A. He was traded this spring, then released from Triple-A Syracuse in the first month of the season.
Freiman immediately signed on with Long Island in the Atlantic League.
“I really didn’t want to sit around and wait all season for a job to open,” Freiman said. “I went to (indepenent) ball pretty much immediately and I was extremely fortunate that the Red Sox signed me out of the Atlantic League.
“I’m extremely grateful and proud to be here.”
Freiman is batting behind highly regarded prospect Andrew Benintendi, who leads all Red Sox minor leaguers in RBI. Benintendi was 1 for 4 and drove in the team’s last run Friday.
The series continues with a 7:05 game Saturday and a 1:05 game Sunday.
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