Dude, where’s my strike zone?
The Fisher Cats brought out the big guns for this game
Coming off a pair of close games and a blowout win, you might expect a decent performance in game 4. Then again, your SAT prep class may have taught you how to complete this sequence: one-run win, one-run loss, 11-run win, … Sometimes, life follows predictable patterns.
One of the few breaks the B-Mets would catch in this game
Like last night, Daniel Muno started things off with a ground ball to the shortstop. Unlike last night, the play was made without incident. Josh Rodriguez managed to beat out the throw for an infield single, but that would be the last Binghamton baserunner until Muno came up again in the third. Like Rodriguez, Muno would be stranded at first.
Erik Goeddel was never really expected to get this far. Drafted out of college in the 24th round, Goeddel was a longshot to succeed as a starting pitcher into the high minors. His performance, while not stellar, has been consistent at each level and has even gotten him a Bowman autograph card (something that Rafael Montero can’t boast, though Reese Havens and Brad Holt can and we’ve seen how they turned out). If he continues like this though, he could be on a trajectory more like Brad Holt than Rafael Montero.
Tovar knows how to position himself
Goeddel made it through the first two innings without incident, largely due to getting balls put weakly into play, like a pair of pop flies to Wilfredo Tovar in the bottom of the first. His fastball was steady at 92mph, but his command was erratic from the start. The Fisher Cats could count on at least three balls in every at bat, a fact they took advantage of with two walks in the bottom of the second. This continued into the bottom of the third when Goeddel loaded the bases on three more walks for Clint Robinson. You may remember Robinson from his 3-run home run off Noah Syndergaard that accounted for all of New Hampshire’s scoring in their 14-3 loss. Nobody was terribly surprised to see him hit a grand slam this time. Goeddel escaped the inning on two strikeouts and a groundout to Tovar, but things were not looking good.
Allan Dykstra, after going 0-4 with 4 strikeouts the night before, put the B-Mets on the board with a solo shot in the 4th. Travis Taijeron would do the same in the 7th, with 10 straight outs between them. While not quite as bad as the 12 straight outs in the previous game, the lack of sustained offense on either end kept the Mets in a big hole. One that kept getting deeper.
Wilfredo Tovar was removed from the game for unknown reasons in the 4th, with Daniel Muno shifting to shortstop, Josh Rodriguez taking over at second, and Richard Lucas entering the game at third. Rodriguez’s range to the left was quickly tested by a ground ball he couldn’t get to, but the inning ended without incident. Two walks in the 5th set up a big rally for the Fisher Cats, with an RBI single chasing Goeddel from the game. Goeddel’s fastball was still sitting at 92, but he just couldn’t get it into the strike zone. His 75mph curve had more success, but Goeddel kept going back to the fastball and paid the price. Ryan Fraser picked up where Goeddel left off with two more hits driving in three more runs and the game starting to get out of hand.
And then the bottom of the 7th happened. Taijeron’s home run in the top half cut New Hampshire’s lead to a mere 6 runs. That’s a reasonable amount to negate in one inning, as the Fisher Cats would go on to demonstrate. Two walks, a HBP, and two home runs was all it took to knock Fraser out of the game. For the second night in a row, Adam Kolarek was called in for mop-up duty, though this time with a 10-run deficit instead of an 11-run lead. A single and a home run later, we were back where we started. Which was an Andy Burns solo home run. Can’t anyone on this pitching staff give up fewer than 3 runs?
Meanwhile, the B-Mets offense wasn’t quite ready to give up. A wild pitch followed by a single by Daniel Muno chipped away at the Fisher Cats’ lead in the top of the 8th. It would all come down to the 9th, but the Mets would need three outs to get there. The solution would come in the form of a familiar face from years past.
Pedro Feliciano: Arm still attached
Pedro Feliciano wanted the ball day in and day out. In his days in the majors with the Mets, he set the team’s record for appearances in a season and then set out to break his own record. He broke himself in the process, as the Yankees found out when they signed him to a two-year contract and gave the Mets a compensation pick that they turned into Michael Fulmer. Feliciano never pitched for the Yankees; his overuse finally caught up to him once he changed uniforms. With nothing to lose, the Mets brought Perpetual Pedro back on a minor league deal to see if he had anything left. What he has is an 83mph offering that isn’t going to miss many bats but can result in outs on balls in play. Feliciano retired the Fisher Cats in order in the 8th on 10 pitches.
Xorge Carrillo with the final RBI of the night
The Mets wasted little time in the 9th setting things up for a comeback. Three singles loaded the bases with one out for Xorge Carrillo, who drove in a run with yet another single. A passed ball on a swinging strike two to Richard Lucas advanced the runners and brought in another run. Lucas would strike out, leaving it up to Daniel Muno. With the score 16-5, Muno grounded out to leave the series even at two games and 31 runs apiece.
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