Binghamton Beats Altoona Five Times In Six Games At Mirabito Stadium

Would it be safe to say the Binghamton Rumble Ponies continue to be the hottest team in the Eastern League for August? Well, given that the team is 18 and 3 as of August 23rd, that would be a good assumption.

Let's recap the just-completed 6-game series against the Altoona Curve and then see what's next in store for the Rumble Ponies as they close out an amazing month of August with details from Binghamton play-by-play announcers Matt Levine and Cam Manna.

Read More: Rumble Ponies/Portland Sea Dogs Recent 6-Game Recap

Tuesday, August 18th - Rumble Ponies - 4  Curve - 3

Binghamton delivered its eighth walk-off win of the season with a two-run ninth inning to steal the series opener from the Curve 4-3, on Tuesday night at Mirabito Stadium.

In a 3-2 game in the bottom of the ninth inning, second baseman Mitch Voit was hit by a pitch from right-hander Justin Meis and represented the tying run. With one out, shortstop Marco Vargas tallied his third hit of the night to set up runners on first and second base with one out.

Third baseman Jefferson Rojas cashed in on his third RBI of the night with a double and scored Voit to tie the game and sent Vargas to third base. Meis intentionally walked Reimer to load the bases to face center fielder Chris Suero. In a two-strike count, Suero delivered a sacrifice fly to left field to score Vargas and win the game 4-3.

It marked Suero’s third walk-off RBI of the season and the fourth time he has forced in the winning run. Binghamton took off for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against right-hander Peyton Stumbo. Vargas, who has seven hits over his last two contests, singled with one out to set up Rojas, who belted a two-run home run.

Rojas has 17 home runs this year and two with Binghamton across 11 games.

Wednesday, August 19th - Rumble Ponies - 10  Curve - 6

The Rumble Ponies scored in double digits for the sixth time in August and belted three home runs to power past Altoona, 10-6.

Binghamton wasted no time against right-hander Matt Ager, as second baseman Marco Vargas clubbed the first pitch he saw over the right-field wall to take a 1-0 lead. Vargas has 10 hits over his last three games with seven RBI and two home runs.

Three batters later, catcher Chris Suero smacked a solo home run, his 16th of the season, which matches a career-high that he set in 2025. Suero tallied his 19th multi-hit game with a double in the seventh inning. Binghamton right-hander Dakota Hawkins tossed 3.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits, and right-hander Cristofer Gomez followed with a scoreless fourth inning.

The Rumble Ponies added two more runs in the fifth inning to pull ahead 4-0. First baseman Jamari Baylor, in his Double-A debut, singled and stole second base, and Vargas, two batters later, drove him in with a single. Third baseman Jacob Reimer came to the plate with two outs and chalked up an RBI single to score Vargas. Reimer tallied his 14th multi-hit game.

Thursday, August 20th - Curve - 7  Rumble Ponies - 5

 Binghamton had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 7-5 loss to the Altoona Curve on Thursday night.

Altoona struck first for the first time in this series with a two-run first inning against right-hander Noah Hall in his fourth Double-A start. Shortstop Keiner Delgado led off the game with a single, and two batters later third baseman Murph Gray belted a two-run home run. It was his fifth Double-A blast.

Binghamton cut the Altoona lead to 2-1 in the second inning against left-hander Nick Dombkowski. Left fielder John Bay led off the frame with a single followed by a base hit from first baseman Corey Collins. With one out, right fielder JT Benson delivered a sacrifice fly to score Bay.

Dombkowski struck out seven batters over 6 innings and retired the final 12 batters that he faced. Altoona gave their starter some extra cushion in the third and fifth innings.

Friday, August 21st - Rumble Ponies - 8  Curve - 5

The Rumble Ponies won their 16th game of August, powered by a four-RBI night from JT Benson, as they defeated Altoona, 8-5.

New York Mets infielder Mark Vientos played in the first game of this rehab assignment and hit third as Binghamton's designated hitter. Vientos, who is recovering from a right-hand fracture, went 0-for-2 with a BB over five innings in the lineup.

Binghamton right-hander Luke Gaybrush, who was acquired on August 3 from the Philadelphia Phillies for LHP Brooks Raley, made his Double-A debut. He threw 54 pitches across 5.0 innings and allowed four runs with four strikeouts. Gabrysh at one point retired seven straight batters.

The Rumble Ponies took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning against left-hander Connor Oliver, who struck out eight batters in 3.2 innings. Second baseman Jefferson Rojas clubbed a two-run home run. Rojas has three home runs as a member of the Mets organization and 18 on the season.

Saturday, August 22nd - Rumble Ponies - 4  Curve - 0

R.J. Gordon earned his third win of August after tossing 6.0 scoreless innings as Binghamton picked up its 17th victory of the month and shut out the Curve, 4-0, on Saturday night at Mirabito Stadium.

It marked Binghamton’s fourth shutout win of the season. Rumble Ponies right-hander R.J. Gordon tossed 6 innings for the fourth time this season, recording his fourth scoreless outing. Gordon faced the minimum over the first two innings and struck out five. In August, Gordon has pitched 23 innings and allowed just four earned runs with four wins this month.

The Rumble Ponies took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when right-hander Dominic Pipkin loaded the bases. Center fielder John Bay walked in designated hitter Marco Vargas for the game's first run, and Binghamton left three on base.

Pipkin allowed three runs over 2.0 innings with four walks. In the bottom of the second inning, the Ponies went in front 3-0. Third baseman Jacob Reimer, who tallied his second three-hit night of the season, smacked a two-run single. He scored second baseman Jamari Baylor, who singled, and left fielder Vincent Perozo, who walked.

Perozo extended the Binghamton advantage to 4-0 in the fourth inning as he blasted a solo home run off of right-hander Aaron Shortridge. It was Perozo’s eighth home run of the year, and Binghamton has now homered in seven straight games.

Sunday, August 23rd - Rumble Ponies - 7  Curve - 3

The Rumble Ponies took five of six games from the Curve, and picked up their 18th victory of the month, powered by a go-ahead three-run home run from Corey Collins in the fourth inning in a 7-3 win on Sunday afternoon.

New York Mets right-hander Justin Hagenman (rib) made his second start on this rehab assignment and his first with Binghamton. In the first inning, shortstop Keiner Delgado belted a leadoff home run to give Altoona a 1-0 lead.

Hagenman settled in and allowed just one earned run over 3.0 innings on four hits and struck out two batters. New York Mets infielder Mark Vientos (right-hand fracture) played in his second game on this rehab assignment and went 0-for-3.

Binghamton took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning against right-hander Peyton Stumbo. Shortstop Jefferson Rojas mashed a two-run home run, his third of the series and his second off of Stumbo. Binghamton has now homered in eight straight games.

The Rumble Ponies have homered in eight straight games and now hold a 45-31 record when they hit a home run. They have also notched at least two home runs in six of their last 13 games. 

Who's Next Up For The Rumble Ponies?

The Rumble Ponies open up a six-game series with the Reading Fightin Phils (Double-A, Philadelphia Phillies) on Tuesday at First Energy Stadium. It's a day game, so a radio at work (if allowed, of course!) or the WNBF app will be your ticket to hearing the game.

The first pitch will go across the plate in Erie at 11 a.m., and the pre-game will kick off at 10:45 a.m. with Matt Levine and Cam Manna on the WNBF Rumble Ponies Radio Network - 1290 AM, 92.1 FM, the WNBF App, and streaming on WNBF.com.