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Murphy tosses five hitless innings in home debut in Flying Squirrels win

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Richmond Flying SquirrelsA grand slam by Frankie Tostado propelled the Richmond Flying Squirrels to a 5-2 victory over the Reading Fightin Phils Wednesday night at The Diamond.

Five Richmond pitchers combined to hold the Fightin Phils (33-44, 4-4) to three hits on the night but issued a season-high 11 walks. Reading left 12 runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Reading starter Griff McGarry (Loss, 0-1) exited the game in the third after issuing a walk to Diego Rincones to load the bases.

On the second pitch of the next at-bat, Tostado smashed a grand slam to right-center field and pushed the Flying Squirrels ahead, 4-0. It was the 11th home run of the year for Tostado and the third grand slam for the Flying Squirrels (43-34, 3-5).

In his home debut, Richmond starter Ryan Murphy (Win, 1-1) pitched five hitless innings with five walks allowed and three strikeouts. In the fourth after Murphy started the frame with back-to-back walks, but answered with two strikeouts and a lineout to close the inning.

The Fightin Phils broke the shutout in the seventh inning when Jonathan Guzman lined an RBI double to left field to cut the deficit to 4-1.

With two outs and a runner at second in the seventh inning, Mike Gigliotti lined an RBI single to give Richmond a four-run lead. Gigliotti has collected three RBIs over his last four games.

Reading moved the score to 5-2 in the eighth inning when Kevin Vicuna worked a bases-loaded walk. Ryan Walker entered with the bases loaded and struck out the lone batter of his appearance to hold the Fightin Phils to one run in the inning.

After back-to-back strikeouts to start the ninth inning, Cole Waites (Save, 2) allowed a pair of baserunners but fired in a looking strikeout to secure the victory.

The series continues on Thursday with Cricket Night at The Diamond where fans can see the similarities between baseball and cricket before the game. In-Your-Face Fireworks will follow after the contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. Right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (4-6, 4.79) will make the start for Richmond opposed by left-hander Ethan Lindow (1-3, 5.67) for Reading.

Tickets are available at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.

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