Left-hander Kelvin Marte was sensational over 7 1/3 innings, leading the Richmond Flying Squirrels (38-28) to a, 1-0, shutout victory over the new hampshire Fisher Cats (28-39) in front of 8,583 at The Diamond on Saturday night. It marked the first shutout of the season turned in by the Richmond pitching staff as the Squirrels returned to 10 games over .500 and leveled the series.
The Squirrels scored the only run of the night against right-hander Radhames Liz in the first inning. With one out, Skyler Stromsmoe drilled a triple high off the right-field fence. Matt Duffy followed and brought him in with a sacrifice-fly, also to right.
Liz (0-1) worked a five-inning night, conceding just the lone run on four hits. He walked three, struck out two and took the hard-luck loss – his first decision of the season.
Meanwhile, Marte (5-2) was cruising to the win. He worked into the eighth inning before conceding a one-out single and retiring for the night. He worked a nearly flawless 7 1/3 innings – the longest start of the season for any Richmond pitcher – and conceded just four hits, all singles. He walked none and matched his season-high with six strikeouts. It marked the fourth consecutive win for the lefty.
Right-hander Jose Casilla cleaned up the eighth inning for Marte and right-hander Cody Hall finished the shutout with a scoreless ninth inning. Hall earned his fourth save of the year.
The finale of the three-game series is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. Richmond LHP Adalberto Mejia (2-5, 6.36) will make the start against new hampshire RHP Scott Copeland (5-5, 4.22). The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup begins at 1:05 p.m. on Sports Radio 910 and SportsRadio910.com.
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Chris Graham
