BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Binghamton Mets know what a long losing streak looks like. They lost six straight before finally winning Sunday.
Now it’s the Portland Sea Dogs attempting to shed the burden of losing.
Portland’s losing streak reached five games Monday night when Binghamton scored in each of its final four at-bats and rallied past the Sea Dogs for a 6-4 victory.
The Sea Dogs (6-13) have the worst record in the Eastern League.
Still, Portland did see some positives from an offense that ranks last in the league in batting average and runs, and started the night tied for last in home runs.
When the Sea Dogs managed three runs in the fifth inning, it was more than they had produced in the previous five games combined.
When Jordan Betts hit a homer with two outs in the ninth, it was the first by the team in 15 games.
“I think the offense was the bright spot of the game,” Sea Dogs Manager Carlos Febles said. “We’ve been struggling offensively. I don’t remember the last time we were able to score more than two runs in a game, so we got some positives out of it.”
The last time was a 4-2 victory against Trenton on April 19. The Sea Dogs added a 1-0 win over the Thunder the next day and haven’t won since.
Tzu-Wei Lin’s bases-loaded double accounted for two runs in the fifth inning when the Sea Dogs moved in front, 3-1.
Binghamton got one run in 31/3 innings of relief by Mitch Atkins, who entered when starter Kevin McAvoy had control problems.
“He kept us in the game,” Febles said of Atkins, who struck out five, didn’t walk a batter and gave up three of his four hits on singles in the fifth inning. He left the game with the lead.
The Sea Dogs couldn’t hold it.
Binghamton scored a run in the sixth, and two each in the seventh and eighth.
Febles said the game came down to two plays, one in the infield and one on a pitch.
The tying run came when Lin tried to make a tough play from short for the third out of the sixth and instead threw the ball away as the tying run scored.
“He was trying to be aggressive and make a play for the team,” Febles said.
After giving up the lead on the unearned run, Chandler Shepherd (1-1) allowed two more in the sixth: Matt Oberste singled and Victor Cruzado followed with a two-run homer to right.
Febles said Shepherd, who recovered to retire the next three batters, otherwise threw well.
McAvoy’s return to upstate New York went sour.
The graduate of Westhill High in Syracuse, 73 miles to the north of Binghamton, last pitched at NYSEG Stadium in the 2010 state semifinals when he got the win. He was prominent in two baseball and one basketball state title for Westhill, but his return did not go well.
McAvoy, who won his first three Eastern League starts and has accounted for half of the Sea Dogs’ wins this season, couldn’t get through the second inning.
He walked or hit seven of the last nine batters he faced.
After issuing a bases-loaded walk for the game’s first run with two outs in the second, McAvoy left without having allowed a hit.
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