Richmond tops Akron, 6-0, makes it four of five in series

Five runs in the eighth inning supported a strong pitching performance by the Richmond Flying Squirrels in their 6-0 victory over the Akron RubberDucks Saturday night at Canal Park.

Richmond (28-22) collected its third shutout victory of the season and have won four of five games played against the RubberDucks (28-22) in this week’s series, five of six overall.

In his first game back off the 7-day injured list, Richmond starter Jake Dahlberg (Win, 3-1) worked five scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts. All four strikeouts for Dahlberg were the third out of four separate innings.

Blake Rivera worked three hitless innings of relief with three strikeouts and has posted back-to-back appearances without surrendering a hit.

John Russell pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts to close out the game.

Tyler Fitzgerald led off the fifth inning with a single and later scored on a passed ball by Akron catcher Bo Naylor to bring Richmond a 1-0 advantage.

The Flying Squirrels extended their advantage to 5-0 in the eighth inning with five runs off four hits. Robert Emery led the frame with a triple and Mike Gigliotti brought him home with an RBI single off Akron pitcher Xzavion Curry (Loss, 3-2).

After back-to-back walks to load the bases with no outs, Frankie Tostado hammered a bases-clearing double to center field which put the Flying Squirrels ahead by five runs.

Fitzgerald followed with a double that scored Tostado from third and gave Richmond its fifth run of the inning.

Akron starter Tanner Burns pitched two scoreless innings in his first start off the injured list. He had not pitched since May 5 against the Flying Squirrels at The Diamond.

The series concludes Sunday from Canal Park with a first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Matt Frisbee (1-3, 4.29) will take the start for Richmond opposed by left-hander Jamie Arias (0-1, 4.60) for Akron.

Following the road trip, the Flying Squirrels return to Richmond for a six-game series against the Erie SeaWolves from June 7-12. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.