STATEN ISLAND, NY- If his bat was any hotter, it would’ve been on fire. That was the kind of night it was for Chris Raber, who had four hits and six RBI’s to spark the Bombers to a 14-4 blowout and two-game sweep of Aberdeen before 2,618 at St. George Terminal Wednesday night.

The DH’s big night was only part of a 14 run 18 hit attack which included a four run first, six run fourth and three for good measure in the seventh as Staten Island (40-25) cut Brooklyn’s division lead to three and a half with a pivotal five-game series starting this weekend.

“It was a good night for the offense,” Raber pointed out. “Everyone did a little bit today. So it was good.”

“We were really hitting on the road trip last week and then a couple of really good pitchers shut us down for a little bit. And then we bounced back. I think everyone’s doing the job for us. So it’s been fun to go hit,” right fielder David Williams said after finishing with a multi-hit night, a run scored and an RBI single in the sixth which was the Bombers’ 11th run of the contest which took three hours and five minutes.

Austin Krum also had a big game with three hits including an RBI single to cap a four run first and a leadoff home run to right center in the fourth which ignited a big inning in which Staten Island batted around to put a once close game out of reach.

Zach McAllister ran into trouble in the top of the frame by allowing a two-run dinger to Aberdeen’s Joe Maroney which sliced the lead in half. The 2006 third round pick then gave up consecutive hits which put runners on the corners before catcher Jose Gil came out to talk. He then responded by getting the final two batters swinging.

McAllister’s teammates responded right away. Krum started it by digging out of an 0-2 hole before depositing a Luis Noel pitch over the right field wall for his first homer of the season to make it 5-2.

“Just trying to stay with your approach and luckily I got a hold of one and put enough on it to get it out,” the center fielder said. “Today, I felt good today at the plate. I was seeing the ball well and I was relaxed. It’s been a bit of a learning process for me this season but when you can get a couple of hits in a game, it’s always a good thing.”

That was just the beginning as the first five S.I. batters reached base. Third baseman Brian Chavez singled and shortstop Justin Snyder walked. After they advanced a base due to a wild pitch, first baseman Taylor Holiday sent them home with a ground-rule double to left increasing the lead to five and knocking out Noel.

They greeted Aberdeen’s third pitcher of the night Fernando De Nabal rudely. After a Damon Sublett single and Gil strikeout looking, D.J. Hollingsworth knocked in the fourth run of the frame with a runscoring base hit to center. Two batters later, Raber singled home two more for his second two-run hit of the night.

He capped things off with another two-run single in the seventh for the Bombers’ final runs in the 10-run blowout of the Ironbirds.

“They’ve been working hard in the cage. That’s Raber’s second game with six RBI’s. And Austin. He deserved it. He’s had some rough luck this year but he finally got one. So I’m happy for him,” Williams added.

“It’s just like we talked about last night. Different guys coming off the bench and contributing and tonight again, Raber did an awesome job. Austin did an awesome job and D.J. did too,” expressed Holiday of his teammates getting involved.

The two touchdowns of offensive support were plenty for McAllister, who went the first five giving up three earned on nine hits while fanning five to improve to 4-4.

Craig Heyer worked two scoreless while Phil Bartleski allowed a run in the eighth before Kyle Hollander came on to toss a 1-2-3 ninth.

“In baseball, they always say hitting’s contagious,” Holiday noted. “It was definitely contagious all the way through the lineup tonight.”

“Everybody’s just stepping it up,” Krum said. “So hopefully, we can keep this momentum going till the playoff push.”

Notes: With Lowell falling at Oneonta 9-3, the Bombers increased their stranglehold on the wildcard to four games with a little more than a week left in the regular season. … Braedyn Pruitt sat out a second straight night. … Every starter in the lineup had at least a hit except Snyder who took the collar in four plate appearances dropping his average to .344. However, the leadoff man drew a walk, swiped his ninth base and came around to score twice. … Gil continued to swing a hot bat with two more hits including a two-run single plus three runs scored. … Hollingsworth finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, steal and three runs scored plus a couple of walks to hike his average to .375. … Sublett added three hits in the win. … Hudson Valley comes in tonight in a brief two-game home and home series before a huge five-game series commences this weekend against Brooklyn.