Trenton, New Jersey - It was a game the Thunder played without their manager and one Tony Franklin could be proud of.
After Mark Cohoon took a no-hitter into the fifth, the Binghamton Mets bullpen destructed and in their wake gave up seven runs in the seventh inning. The Thunder would go on to win it by a score of 7-4.
Prior to the game, Franklin was taken to the hospital for an undisclosed reason. Coach Justin Pope was given the lineup just minutes before the game and told he would stand in for Franklin.
The Mets had control of the game early on, with Cohoon working quickly and no-hitting the Thunder through five. The Mets would find out that the Thunder are a team unafraid of a challenge.
"Early on we were putting some good swings on some pitches, but they were just going right to guys," said Pope. "And then finally in that seventh inning things started going our way. Ray Kruml put down a really good bunt and beat it out."
"Then Jose Pirella came up, first and second no outs and we were tied up four and I just felt he should swing the bat there, because the momentum was in our corner. Guys were swinging the bat really well, so I'm like, I'm going to let him swing."
Pirella worked a walk, but catcher and top Yankees prospect Austin Romine, who was DH, stepped to the plate. In the six-pitch at-bat he smacked a slider up in the zone to right field and made it 6-4.
"Great at-bat by Romine, great knock to come up with two RBI right there. Huge," Pope said. "He can be as good as he wants to. It's just a matter of wanting to get better and staying on an even keel. He's real close to getting where he wants to be."
Franklin has long talked about the important of patience and consistency. On Thursday night, the Thunder used a mix of smart hitting, aggression, and patience to win the game.
Tim Norton was on the hill in the ninth to put a cap on it.
"I usually come in the seventh or eighth, to me, that's the same as coming in the ninth, so I treated it just the same as I would always," Norton said. "The hitters I faced I don't think I ever faced before. I was just trying to get a feel for what they're swings were like. And I don't think I'd worked with [Catcher Jose] Gil in about three years."
A lot of the unexpected and playing under difficult circumstances did not sway the baby bombers and it would be hard to sum it up any better than acting manager Pope did.
"Hell of a game."
Notes: Josh Schmidt was the winning pitcher, pitching 2.2 innings, allowing no hits and two walks. Brandon Sage got tagged for the loss surrendering four earned runs. Bradley Suttle had an RBI, with Romine and Krum collecting two.
Update: via Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore, Tony Franklin suffered chest pains last night and was then taken to the hospital. He's now home resting.