The Reading Fightins rode eight scoreless innings from right-hander Zach Eflin to a, 6-0, shutout win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. The loss marked the fourth in a row for the Squirrels as they were swept in a series for the first time on the season. Richmond has dropped six-of-seven since claiming their first two games of the season.
The Fightins got on the board first against lefty Matt Lujan in the second inning. Gabrielle Lino opened the inning with a double through the alley in left-center field. Harold Martinez followed and lined Lujan’s first pitch for a double into the right-field corner. Lino scored easily for a 1-0 lead.
Lujan pitched consistently behind through the first three innings, and the Fightins made him pay in a big way in the third. Lujan walked Aaron Altherr with one out in the inning. It was Lujan’s third walk of the day, and the second time he passed Altherr. An out later, Cam Perkins lined an RBI double into the left-field corner for a 2-0 lead. Lino then launched a high-flying two-run home run to left field that stretched the lead to 4-0. Martinez clubbed the very next pitch from Lujan to roughly the same spot. The back-to-back blasts gave Reading a 5-0 lead.
Lujan (0-2) battled through four innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits – all for extra bases. He walked three, struck out two and was doomed to his second loss of the season.
Reading got an additional run off of lefty Kelvin Marte in the fifth inning. Martinez also drove in that run with a sacrifice fly.
All the while, Eflin (2-0) was cruising. He never faced adversity, allowing just three hits. He walked one and struck out five as he earned his second win on the year. Eflin has now opened his year by tossing 14 consecutive scoreless innings.
Righty Ryan O’Sullivan had a little trouble in the top of the ninth inning, but escaped the jam to preserve the shutout. The Squirrels were blanked for the second time on the season.
The Squirrels continue their first road trip of the season as they travel to Bowie, MD, to open a scheduled two-game series with the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles) at Prince George’s Stadium on Monday night at 6:35 p.m. RHP Joe Biagini (0-0, 0.00) will make the start for Richmond against RHP Elih Villan (1-0, 0.00) for Bowie. The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup will begin at 6:05 p.m. on Fox Sports 910 and FoxSportsRichmond.com.
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