Mike Carp had a career day in what is quickly becoming a career year for the young first baseman-turned-outfielder.
Carp slugged a grand slam and a two-run homer and the Binghamton Mets homered five times and pounded out 17 hits in a 17-4 rout of the New Britain Rock Cats at NYSEG Stadium.
The B-Mets scored six times in the opening frame, then loaded the bases with one out in the second inning on singles by Nick Evans, Dan Murphy and Caleb Stewart. Carp followed with a slam to right field. His two-run shot in the fifth gave him a career-high six RBIs and the first multi-homer game of his career.
"I've been feeling good all year and seeing the ball real well," Carp said. "I was trying to do too much at times, and [teammate Dan] Murphy said I looked more comfortable hitting with a two-strike approach, so that's what I did. I shortened up my swing a little bit and got a 3-2 fastball on the first home run and a 1-0 fastball on the second one."
Carp is batting .447 (17-for-38) with three home runs and 10 RBIs over his last 10 games. He is second overall in hitting in the Eastern League with a .351 average and has an on-base percentage of .404.
He hit .251 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs in 2007 for Binghamton after a broken finger limited him to 97 games.
"It was really frustrating and disappointing the way everything worked out last year," Carp said. "This was a big year for me coming in. I was pressing a bit last year and was a little injury-plagued, so I wanted to take a more healthy approach to this season."
A ninth-round pick of the Mets in 2004, he primarily played first but has taken left field in 12 games for Binghamton, including four of the last 10.
"I played out there in the Gulf Coast League my first year, and they told me in Spring Training they wanted me to get some reps out there to add to my repertoire," Carp said. "It's been fun, and it's a position I feel I can handle."
Evans, who returned to Binghamton on Friday after a nine-game stint with the New York Mets, went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored.
"It was a dream come true for him and it was fun watching him," Carp said of Evans' time in the bigs. "I hope he gets back there, and I hope to be there with him this year. It would be amazing.
With current Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado in the final year of his contract, Carp envisions himself making the jump to New York, although he's keeping his focus on the present.
"It would be great to have some home-grown guys coming in," he said. "You try not to think about it too much. This is a big year for us and we wanna have fun.
Second baseman Emmanuel Garcia also had a career day, homering in his first two at-bats of the game -- a three-run shot in the first and a two-run blast in the second. The five RBIs were a career high and the two long balls were the first for Garcia since Aug. 12, 2006 for the Kingsport Mets, a span of 708 at-bats.
Jose Coronado doubled twice and scored twice and Rafael Arroyo hit a solo homer, his first for Binghamton (34-28), which has won five straight.
Mets starter Eric Brown (3-5) allowed four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five over five innings.
Brock Peterson cranked a two-run homer and David Winfree added a solo shot for the Rock Cats (28-34).
New Britain starter Jay Rainville (5-6) surrendered 11 runs on 10 hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings.
No comments:
Post a Comment