Whitman, bullpen blank 'Ducks to open series

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Whitman held the Akron RubberDucks hitless into the sixth and combined with Tyler Vogel and Shane Rademacher for a shutout in a 5-0 Richmond Flying Squirrels win on Tuesday night at CarMax Park.

The Flying Squirrels (21-6) threw their second shutout win of the year and hit three homers against the RubberDucks (16-12).

Joe-ly moly, what an outing for Joe Whitman 👏

5.2 hitless innings for our lefty! pic.twitter.com/daS91xWEk9

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 6, 2026

Whitman (Win, 3-1) held Akron hitless until a two-out triple in the bottom of the sixth by Ralph Velazquez. He finished his outing with six scoreless innings and struck out seven. Vogel retired all six batters he faced across the seventh and eighth, striking out three. Rademacher worked a scoreless ninth to finish the shutout.

Happy Cinco de Ceballos 🎉

(it's actually his sixth homer but we couldn't resist) pic.twitter.com/kFEFwHpR6w

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 6, 2026

Sabin Ceballos opened the scoring with a solo homer to center in the bottom of the fourth. It was his sixth homer of the year, tying his total from the 2025 season.

Z-Mo got it and he KNEW IT 😤

The first homer of the season for Zach Morgan doubles our lead! pic.twitter.com/fz8xxUwrOD

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 6, 2026

Two batters later, Zach Morgan launched a solo home run to left, his first of the season, for a 2-0 Flying Squirrels lead against Akron starter Caden Favors (Loss, 1-3).

Parks pepperin' the left field corner 👏 pic.twitter.com/IaK0iP82nk

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 6, 2026

In the bottom of the fifth, Scott Bandura hit a two-out double off the center field wall and scored on a double by Parks Harber for a 3-0 Richmond lead.

Maui Ahuna TO THE CONCOURSE 💪

It's the third @Woodfin home run for your home team tonight! pic.twitter.com/KTrvN3obqY

— Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) May 6, 2026

Bo Davidson led off the sixth with a double and Maui Ahuna followed with a two-run homer, his third this year, to extend the lead to 5-0.

Jonah Cox went 0-for-3 to snap his 23-game on base streak. His .407 batting average continues to lead MiLB.

The series continues Wednesday at CarMax Park. Right-hander Trystan Vrieling (0-0, 4.91) will start for Richmond opposed by Akron right-hander Dylan DeLucia (0-2, 10.47). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday is a Best in Show Dog Day presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka with free admission for dogs in sections 117 and 118. Fans can enjoy Happy Hour with beer and non-alcoholic beverage specials from 5:30-7 p.m. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the CarMax Park ticket office.