PONIES LOSE TO PORTLAND

Alonso’s Blast Not Enough for Ponies in Portland, 4-2

BINGHAMTON, NY – Peter Alonso blasted his third home run of the season, but the Binghamton Rumble Ponies could not overcome an early deficit in a 4-2 loss to the Portland Sea Dogs on Friday night at Hadlock Field. Binghamton failed to collect a hit with a runner in scoring position in their fourth straight loss.

For the fourth straight game, the Rumble Ponies played from behind. Cole Sturgeon put Portland on the board immediately with a leadoff homer in the first off Andrew Church. The Sea Dogs added a pair of runs in the second and tacked on with a sacrifice fly from Luke Tendler in the third.

After fanning against Major League rehabbed Drew Pomeranz in the first inning, Alonso exacted revenge in the third. With a runner aboard, the Ponies first baseman ripped Pomeranz’s payoff pitch over the wall in left-center, cutting the deficit to one.

Pomeranz (1-0) shook off the long ball and worked into the sixth inning without any further damage. The southpaw struck out four over 5-1/3 innings to collect the victory.

The Rumble Ponies brought the potential tying run to the plate twice against Portland’s bullpen, but could not break through. Reliever Trey Ball stranded an inherited runner in the sixth and side-stepped Levi Michael’s leadoff double in a scoreless eighth. Trevor Kelley worked a perfect ninth to claim his first career Double-A save.

Church (0-1) was touched for four runs on seven hits over four innings of work in his first loss of the season. The righty walked two and failed to collect a strikeout. Austin McGeorge fanned four over two innings and Gerson Bautista added three more strikeouts in two frames to close Binghamton’s pitching tab.

Tim Tebow went 1-for-4 at the plate with a pair of strikeouts, including one to end the game. The Ponies outfielder laced a single to left to start the seventh, but was thrown out attempting to stretch the hit into a double.

The Rumble Ponies (3-4) continue their first road series of the season on Saturday at 1:00 PM. RHP Nabil Crismatt takes the hill against RHP Mike Shawaryn. The Horizons Federal Credit Union pregame show starts at 12:45 PM and can be heard on NewsRadio 1290 WNBF and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies channel on TuneIn.

POSTGAME NOTES: The Rumble Ponies went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position...Peter Alonso hit his third home run of the season last year on June 19, his 23^rd game of the year…Binghamton’s last four-game losing streak unfolded in 2017 (July 19-22, 2017)