Binghamton 4, Portland 2

Binghamton Splits Series with 4-2 Win

Roy Merritt sealed the B-Mets fifth win of the season with his fifth save, throwing 1.2 innings to make a 4-2 lead stand up and Lucas Duda and Shawn Bowman hit solo home runs to propel Binghamton to victory.

Starters Ryan Coultas and Junichi Tazawa worked efficiently, Tazawa threw 4.2 innings giving up two runs and Coultas hurled 5.1 inning surrendering two as well.

The game became a battle of the bullpens in the sixth inning when Adam Bostick came in to relieve Coultas. Bostick retired all five men he faced and would later be named the winning pitcher for the second time in the series.

After Bostick retired the final two hitters in the sixth, Duda drove his first B-Met home run over the left field wall to give Binghamton (5-4) the lead for good. It was just the third home run for any B-Met this season.

John Madden entered for Bostick, hitting the first batter he faced, Iggy Suarez. Zach Borowiak followed with a groundout to second that allowed Suarez, the potential tying run, to reach scoring position. This situation called for Merritt.

Merritt induced a flyout from Josh Reddick and a struck out Mark Wagner to get out of the inning unscathed.

In the bottom of the eighth, Shawn Bowman added to the B-Met lead with a solo homer onto the train tracks over the left field fence. It was Bowman’s first of the season and team-leading eighth RBI.

With a two-run lead in tow, Merritt shut down Portland (6-5) with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save. Merritt has given up just one hit over 6.1 innings.