RICHMOND, VA - Richmond hit a pair of solo homers and five Flying Squirrels pitchers blanked the Binghamton Mets in a 2-0 loss on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. Matt Koch surrendered both long balls in his first start since April while Binghamton stranded nine runners in their seventh shutout defeat of the season. The B-Mets settled for the series split and return to the Southern Tier leading the Eastern Division by 1-1/2 games.


Devin Harris put Richmond on the board with one swing in the second. The Squirrels outfielder lined Koch's 2-1 offering inside the left-field foul pole for his first round-tripper since July 1. One inning later Engel Beltre matched Harris with a mirror-image long ball, zipping a solo shot inside the right-field foul pole.


Making his fourth start in five games, Joan Gregorio kept the B-Mets at bay over a season-long 4-2/3 innings. The righty stranded two in the fourth to preserve Richmond's lead before allowing two runners to reach in the fifth.


Phil McCormick took over and surrendered a two-out single to load the bases. Brock Peterson had a chance to sway the game, but popped out to third, ending the threat. McCormick tossed a perfect sixth inning before Kyle Crick worked a blank seventh.


Following a crisp eighth from Edwin Quirarte, Binghamton compiled one last push against Derek Law in the ninth. Vince Belnome shot an infield single to second and Jonathan Galvez worked out a walk, but Josh Rodriguez struck out looking as a pinch-hitter to end the game.


McCormick (4-3) went 1-1/3 innings to pick up the win and highlight another strong performance from the Squirrels bullpen. After allowing 10 runs in the opener on Thursday, Richmond's relief corps closed the series with 18 scoreless innings. Koch (4-5) allowed two runs over three innings and took the loss in his return to the B-Mets rotation.


The B-Mets (59-48) enjoy an off day on Monday before starting a three-game series against the Bowie Baysox on Tuesday night at 6:35 PM. RHP Tyler Pill takes the mound for Binghamton.


(Courtesy: Binghamton Mets Baseball)