When the Binghamton Rumble Ponies came to Somerset for a week of games against the Patriots, they brought a 68-32 record and one of Minor League Baseball’s best rosters with them. With one of baseball’s top pitching prospects in Jonah Tong and a lineup featuring Jett Williams, Carson Benge, and Ryan Clifford, Binghamton was a tough matchup for any Double-A pitcher. Despite some recent struggles, they went into Somerset with Tong on the mound and a lineup ready to mash. Instead, they came out on the wrong end of a marquee pitching matchup.

Tong went up against Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, a 21-year-old right-hander in the midst of a breakout season with the Yankees organization. Since being promoted to Somerset, Rodriguez-Cruz had recorded quality starts in all three of his appearances and was fr

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