Photo courtesy Wood Sports Photography

3 Up

Meyers’ Return to the Mound – After suffering a multitude of injuries since the 2011 season, it was enjoyable to see Brad Meyers return to the playing field healthy. The 6’6″ righty debuted with a solid outing that saw him allow one run on three hits over 4.2 innings while striking out six. If the Senators can can count on Meyers every fifth day and what he brings to the table as a strike-throwing machine, suddenly their rotation just became a whole lot better.

Skole Turns the Corner – To say Matt Skole has struggled to begin the 2014 campaign is an understatement, but quietly the corner infielder has been putting up better at-bats. Last week he hit .286 with two doubles and his first home run of the season. The most encouraging sign, however, might be the three walks he drew (compared with only seven in 92 prior plate appearances) as his pitch recognition and approach improve.

Improving D – I’ve been critical of the Senators’ defensive woes and how it has affected the razor-thin margin of victory the starting pitchers are giving them. But I have to also give them credit too as they’ve tidied it up as of late commiting only one miscue in the last week, a throwing error by second baseman Cutter Dykstra.

3 Down

Marty’s Struggles – I thought 2014 would be different for Jason Martinson. He had a histroy of dramatically improving each time he returned to a level and I thought Double-A wouldn’t be much different for the shortstop. It appears I was wrong. Martinson continues to struggle (.095 average last week with seven strikeouts) and his season slash line has dipped to a team-low .178/.222/.228.

5-Hole is a Black Hole – Over the last week, the fifth spot in the lineup has been a place where rallies go to die. Kevin Keyes and Justin Bloxom combined to bat .148 and drove in only two runs while striking out nine times. Worse yet, the duo didn’t scratch out an extra-base hit all week.

Big Innings (or Lack Thereof) Making a Difference – Both Harrisburg and Binghamton scored in exactly 11 of the innings played in this weekend’s four-game series. The difference though was Binghamton’s ability to strike for multiple runs and prolong rallies. The B-Mets scored more than one run seven times, while the Senators only managed that feat twice. Scratching out a run here and there isn’t going to win the team many ballgames.