19-year-old highly touted prospect Jett Williams had a signature playoff moment, swatting his first Double-A home run and leading Binghamton to a Division Series victory over the Somerset Patriots in Game 1 of the series. The Ponies also received terrific pitching performances from Christian Scott and Luis Moreno as they combined to strike out 10 batters. The Mets Double-A affiliate are now one win away from meeting either the Erie SeaWolves or the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the Eastern League Championship next week.

Jett Williams, Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

TRIPLE-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (71-72) 10, Syracuse Mets (58-83) 5

BOX SCORE

The Syracuse Mets’ bullpen blew a lead in the ninth inning as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders rallied back from a 5-3 deficit and scored seven runs in the ninth and beat the Mets 10-5.

The RailRiders jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Mets quickly tied things up at three apiece in the bottom half of the inning. Second baseman José Peroza slugged a solo shot (101 MPH exit velocity) in the second. Peroza is 6-for-18 with a 1.262 OPS, two homers, and six RBIs in five games since being called up to Triple-A Syracuse.

A couple of batters later in the frame, Jaylen Palmer launched a 413-foot two-run bomb of his own. The 23-year-old Brooklyn native is on a home run tear, as he has hit four dingers in his last five contests. Palmer was the only Met to collect multiple hits, as Syracuse managed just four hits on the night as a team.

In the seventh inning, Syracuse got back-to-back walks from Wyatt Young and Danny Mendick with the bases loaded to take a 5-3 advantage but could not hold the lead.

José Chacin got the start and permitted three runs in five innings of work in a no-decision. Chacin allowed six hits, a home run, walked four, and struck out six batters in the outing. The 26-year-old right-hander has compiled a 5.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and surrendered 24 home runs over 102 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Eric Orze continued his outstanding month.  He tossed another two scoreless innings, yielding just two base runners, and racked up another five punchouts. The 26-year-old has thrown 7 1/3 scoreless frames, scattering two hits while issuing five free passes, and fanned 16 batters in six appearances in September.

Dedniel Núñez struggled mightily in his outing and gave up four runs (three earned) without recording an out. His ERA rose to a 7.11

DOUBLE-A EASTERN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES GAME 1

Binghamton Mets (1-0) 9, Somerset Patriots (0-1) 2

BOX SCORE

  • SS Jett Williams 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, 1.400 OPS
  • 1B JT Schwartz 2-for-5, R, 3B, 2 RBI, 1.200 OPS
  • 2B Jeremiah Jackson 2-for-5, R, HR, RBI, 1.400 OPS
  • RF Rowdey Jordan 3-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, 1.750 OPS

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies routed the Somerset Patriots 9-2 Tuesday night, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Eastern League Division Series. Binghamton is one win away from advancing to the Eastern League Championship Series.

Binghamton’s offense was quiet through the first three frames until they erupted for six runs in the fourth inning. The Ponies recorded five consecutive hits to take a 3-1 lead. Jeremiah Jackson started the rally as he hammered a game-tying solo shot that came off the bat at 106 mph. Jackson has hit eight homers in 38 games since joining the Mets organization. He also made two sensational plays defensively in the contest.

Shortstop Jett Williams would blow the game wide open when he crushed a 370-foot three-run blast (105 MPH off the bat) for his first career Double-A home run and gave Binghamton a 6-1 advantage.

Binghamton tacked on runs in the later innings, with two in the seventh and one in the eighth. Cleanup hitter JT Schwartz singled to drive in Drew Gilbert, who walked and stole second base in the seventh. Schwartz added a run-scoring triple in the eighth. The 23-year-old first baseman notched his 22nd multi-hit game in 67 contests with Binghamton this season.

Four other Rumble Ponies added an RBI in the contest, including outfielders Rowdey Jordan and Rhylan Thomas. Jordan finished with a three-hit night, going 3-for-4 with a double. The 24-year-old switch hitter extended his hit streak to nine games, good for a .364 clip during that span.

Thomas’s RBI base knock in the fourth inning gave him a 13-game hit streak. The 23-year-old lefty hitter slashed .328/.407/.425 with 21 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs across three minor league levels this season.

There was a scary moment for the Rumble Ponies in the contest, however, as leadoff hitter Luisangel Acuña left the game in the sixth inning after getting hit in the face by a pitch. Acuña was able to walk off the field with the help of trainers.

  • RHP Christian Scott 3 IP, 2 H, R, 0 BB, 5 K, 3.00 ERA
  • RHP Luis Moreno (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.80 ERA

Right-hander Christian Scott was on the bump in the Division Semifinals Series opening game for the Rumble Ponies Tuesday night and delivered a dominant pitching performance. Scott yielded one run on two hits and fanned five across three innings before being taken out after 47 pitches. The 24-year-old retired 9 of the 11 batters he faced and kept the Patriots off the board until the third inning when Trey Sweeney took him deep, providing Somerset an early 1-0 lead.

Luis Moreno took over in relief for Scott and was fantastic as he mowed down the Patriots. Moreno struck out five batters, walked a pair, and scattered three hits over five innings of one-run ball. The only blemish against the 24-year-old hurler on the evening came in the sixth inning when he surrendered a solo blast to Elijah Dunham.

Southpaw Matt Minnick pitched the ninth and induced a game-ending double play to seal the 9-2 victory, moving Binghamton one win away from the Championship Series.