Behind a strong pitching performance by Matt Frisbee and a pair of home runs, the Richmond Flying Squirrels topped the Akron RubberDucks, 3-2, Tuesday evening at Canal Park.
Richmond (25-21) scored all three of their runs with home runs. Frisbee (Win, 1-3) worked seven innings, the longest outing by a Flying Squirrels starter this season, and set a season high with eight strikeouts.
Trailing by two runs in the third inning, Brett Auerbach scorched a two-run homer to center field to even the score at 2-2. Auerbach has launched home runs in back-to-back games and has gathered seven this season.
Brandon Martorano led off the fifth inning with a solo home run against Akron starter Hunter Gaddis (Loss, 4-2) and jumped the Flying Squirrels to a 3-2 advantage. Martorano finished the month of May with five home runs and 15 RBIs over 22 games.
The RubberDucks (27-19) loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Frisbee escaped with back-to-back strikeouts in his final inning of work.
Richmond reliever Frank Rubio worked around a two-out triple with a flyout in a scoreless eighth inning. Chris Wright (Save, 5) loaded the bases with three consecutive walks, but he induced a pop out and a strikeout to reel in the victory. The RubberDucks left 10 runners on base and went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Micah Pries punched a two-run homer to right-center field and gave Akron a 2-0 lead. Frisbee settled in after the first frame, holding the RubberDucks scoreless through the next six innings.
Gaddis finished the night with 10 strikeouts in his start for the RubberDucks while allowing three runs, four hits and two walks.
The series continues Wednesday from Canal Park with a first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (1-5, 5.74) will make the start for Richmond opposed by left-hander Joey Cantillo (2-2, 1.91) 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.
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