Saturday’s penultimate regular season game was a pitching showcase for the Eugene Emeralds. Ryan Murphy, who has burst on the radar as one of the Giants’ top prospects this season, led the way as the team took down the Tri-City Dust Devils 5-0. They took a 3-1 series lead and leaped back into a tie for first place heading into the last day of the regular season.

The Emeralds struck first on an Ismael Munguia RBI double in the third inning. Murphy kept them in control from the beginning, pitching four nearly perfect innings. He allowed just one baserunner —  a single — while striking out eight.

Emeralds manager Dennis Pelfrey opted to take Murphy out after just 59 pitches, likely in an effort to get a bunch of arms in the game with the season nearing an end. 

Murphy’s regular season came to an end with 31 1/3 innings as an Emerald under his belt. He allowed just five total earned runs (1.44 ERA) and 13 hits while striking out 48. For the season, he posted a 2.52 ERA in 107 1/3 innings with 164 strikeouts.

John Russell picked up where Murphy left off, throwing two scoreless frames. The offense added some breathing room in the sixth with Tyler Fitzgerald’s two-run homer, then two more in the seventh on Armani Smith’s two-run single.

Emeralds pitchers just kept on rolling, as Travis Perry and Taylor Rashi each struck out the side in their respective innings. Twenty-five-year-old right-hander Jesus Tona made his Emeralds debut in the ninth and pitched a scoreless inning as well, putting the cap on another easy victory.

All told, Eugene pitchers combined for an absurd 19 strikeouts.

The win moves the Emeralds into a tie for first place with just one regular season game to play. They’ll wrap up this final series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. before starting the High-A West Championship Series next Tuesday.