The Richmond Flying Squirrels (66-50) losing skid hit six games as the Binghamton Mets (67-48) rolled to a, 9-6, win at The Diamond on Tuesday night. The Richmond loss, coupled with an Akron victory, shrunk the Squirrels’ lead in the Western Division to 4 ½ games. However, Bowie lost, keeping Richmond’s nine-game lead for a playoff spot intact.
The B-Mets jumped on top quickly with a first-inning run off of lefty Adalberto Mejia. Dilson Herrera spurred the uprising with a one-out double cranked to the left-field corner. Brian Burgamy followed and lined a single to left-center field. Herrera scored for a 1-0 lead.
Binghamton took firm control of the ballgame, and chased Mejia from it, in the fifth inning. Wilfredo Tovar opened the frame with a double through the left-center field alley. Mejia recorded the first two outs of the inning, but was lifted due to pitch count for righty Jose Casilla. Herrera greeted him with an RBI single to give the B-Mets a 2-0 advantage. Burgamy then belted a two-run home run to right-center field. Burgamy’s 20th of the season gave the B-Mets a 4-0 lead.
Mejia (5-7) took the loss over 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with two earned runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five.
The B-Mets tacked on a run against right-hander Carlos Alvarado in the seventh inning and put the game away with four more in the eighth. Avarado was charged with four runs – three earned – over just two-thirds of an inning. Newcomer Dan Slania was also charged with one run as he made his Double-A debut.
Right-hander Tyler Pill (7-5) sped through Squirrels for seven innings, blanking them on just five hits. He walked two and struck out eight. He earned his second win of the year over the Squirrels, having now thrown 15 scoreless innings against them.
The Richmond bats came alive against the Binghamton bullpen, but it was too little, too late. They scored three runs in the eighth and another three in the ninth. The runs in the eighth were against righty Randy Fontanez. Mario Lisson contributed an RBI double to highlight the inning. It was Lisson again in the ninth off right-hander Ryan Fraser. He launched a three-run home run to left-center field to pull the Squirrels within three runs. However, Fraser was able to stabilize the situation and finish the ballgame.
Game two of the three-game series is schedule for 7:05 p.m. at The Diamond on Wednesday night. Richmond RHP Chris Stratton (0-0, 1.80) will make the start against Binghamton RHP Greg Peavey (8-2, 2.79). The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup begins at 6:35 p.m. on Sports Radio 910 and SportsRadio910.com.
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