MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats haven’t been swept so far in 2021, but the Binghamton Rumble Ponies are doing their best to change that despite the longer series this season.
On Thursday, the Fisher Cats lost 9-3 to Binghamton, marking the fourth loss in a row for New Hampshire (9-17) after dropping the final contest of their series against Somerset last week. Remarkably, Binghamton (7-19) have won almost as many games during this season as their first four weeks of the season.
It was a night for homers on both sides. For the Rumble Ponies, Carlos Cortes went deep in the first and third while Will Toffey and Desmond Lindsay went deep. Austin Martin hit his first professional home run for the Fisher Cats in the first inning, with L.J. Talley hitting his third this year in the fourth inning. The Rumble Ponies also got runs from hits that remained in the park as Cortes and Manny Rodriguez contributed RBI singles for the Ponies in the fourth.
Troy Miller (0-1) was the loser in what was his second appearance following promotion from High-A Vancouver. Miller lasted four innings, giving up seven runs off seven hits and a walk, as well as three home runs.
At the plate, Talley and Otto Lopez each had two hits. Lopez cooled off during the Somerset series, dropping what had grown to a 15-game hitting streak, but with Thursday’s effort, he now has five hits against Binghamton so far.
Josh Walker’s start lasted just long enough to give him his first Double-A win of the year. He allowed three runs off six hits and a walk while striking out six Fisher Cats.
Both teams return to Delta Dental Stadium at 6:35 p.m. on Friday. Zach Logue (3-0, 2.96 ERA) seeks to stop the slide for New Hampshire against Binghamton’s Adam Oller (0-2, 5.18 ERA).
