Hoppers shut down Suns behind Martinez pitching

special to Greensborosports.com by Ryan Mock

Hagerstown, MD: Great pitching for the Greensboro Grasshoppers propelled them past the Hagerstown Suns 5-1 on Sunday at Municipal Stadium.

Cristhian Martinez pitched seven strong innings for the Grasshoppers, limiting the Suns to one run on four hits. Martinez (9-3) struck out four Suns on his way to the win.

Relievers Chris Leroux and Benito Beato also shut down the Suns over the final two innings.

Jeff Mandel started on the mound for Hagerstown and took the loss, pitching 4.2 innings while allowing four earned runs while striking out three Grasshoppers.

Greensboro scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning on a two-run double by Logan Morrison.

The Suns had a chance to respond in the bottom half of the fourth as the bases were loaded with no outs when Trevor Lawhorn grounded into a double play. Francisco Plasencia scored from third base, but Francisco Guzman struck out swinging to end the threat.

Two more runs for the Grasshoppers in the top of the fifth inning and another in the sixth put the game out of reach for the Suns.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers return home to First Horizon Park on Tuesday night to take on the Hickory Crawdads. Game time is 7pm.