EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes at Bowie

Published on August 13, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) (59-57) vs. Bowie Baysox (BAL) (66-50)

Thursday, August 13th -- 7:05 PM

Prince George's Stadium -- Bowie, MD

Game #117 - Road Game #56

Radio: Fox Sports 910 (6:35 PM) Internet: FoxSportsRichmond.com

Richmond RHP Tyler Beede (2-6, 4.91)

Bowie RHP Joe Gunkel (6-2, 2.63)

Friday, August 14th ALT 7:05 PM Richmond RHP Joan Gregorio (1-2, 3.02) vs. LHP Steven Brault (6-3, 2.80)

Saturday, August 15th ALT 6:05 PM Richmond RHP Joe Biagini (9-5, 2.37) vs. LHP Zack Dodson (5-10, 4.10)

TODAY'S FEED: It is hard to believe this is the final day of the legendary road trip with Jay Burnham. Squirrels will win tonight and then we will return to the RVA at 3am (hopefully earlier).

SERIES AT A GLANCE: The lopsided affairs continued in this series, but this time the Squirrels controlled the tempo and took down the Baysox 9-1 last night in game three. It is the most runs the RVA has scored in a game since June 21 (9-1 win over New Britain). Richmond drew eight walks in the game and outhit Bowie 13-3. LHP Matt Lujan came off the DL and made his first start since July 9th (3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R - 64 pitches). On Tuesday night, all of the action transpired in the sixth inning of game two in this series. Bowie responded to Richmond's one run in the top of the inning with five runs in the bottom half to ultimately win 5-1. LHP Matt Gage took the loss, but was electric from the start for the Squirrels as he set down the first 11 batters he faced (also had eight strikeouts). Richmond posted four hits, which is the fewest total in a game on this current trip.The Flying Squirrels were on the complete wrong side of the coin as they dropped game one, 11-3, to Bowie. These 11 runs are tied for the most Richmond has absorbed in a game this season (11 runs allowed vs. Binghamton, 7/30). Squirrels starter Kelvin Marte let up a season high 11 hits and six earned runs. The offense went silent and was only 1-9 with runners in scoring position. This is the first time these two squads have crossed paths since late May (5/22-5/25). The four Baysox starers for this series will make their first starts against the Squirrels this year. Bowie and Altoona got to know each other really well during the beginning of the season as they met 17 times from April to the end of May (most frequent opponent for the RVA). Richmond captured three of the four games in the last meeting against Bowie. Two of the Squirrels' starters in that series have since been promoted to Triple-A Sacramento (Chris Stratton, Jack Snodgrass). Richmond outscored Bowie 28-18 in the last series between the two at Prince George's Stadium (5/14-5/17). In April, they played a bizarre two-game series in Bowie and that was in the middle of the Richmond's 15-game losing streak. The two teams opened up their 2015 seasons against one another (4/9-4/12). They battled right out of the gates and experienced two 14-inning marathons. In total, the Squirrels have played five series with the Baysox and they have won the last three. They are 11-9 against the team from Bowie, MD.

DON'T FADE AWAY: The playoff push continues to get more and more interesting in the final full month of the regular season. The Squirrels have been everywhere from second all the way to fourth place in the last week. Richmond relocated down to fourth place for the first time since August 1 after Friday's loss. The club has only been in fourth place for seven days (last five currently) since July 19, but it looks as though these days might increase. Richmond fell to eight games back of Bowie after the defeat Tuesday (now seven games out). This is the furthest the team has been behind the eight ball since May 18 when they were 8.0 games back and held a 14-21 record. They were only one game back of the first place Bowie Baysox from July 21-25. Richmond has dropped 12 of their last 18 games and this includes a six game losing streak in late July.

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM: Richmond won just their second road game in their last 11 attempts yesterday. It has been a rocky ride for the Squirrels during this road trip with just two wins. However, the offense has come in full force in these victories. The bottom of the order has contributed significantly. In Sunday's 8-6 win over Altoona, the 6-7-8 hitters went a combined 5-15 with five RBI's (Ciriaco, Galindo, Zambrano). Then in Wednesday 9-1 thrashing against Bowie, the 6-7-8-9 hitters provided the bulk of the workload (Harris, Beltre, Williams, Galindo). In total, they collected nine hits of the 13 hits, scored five times, and recorded four RBI's. Devin Harris posted just his second double in August and led the crew with three RBI's. All of them had multi-hit games. Engel Beltre is 6-10 in these two games and 0-13 in the other four games on this trip. The Squirrels have put up 29 hits over the two contests (8/9, 8/12). In the four other games, Richmond has only tallied 23 hits.

WE CAN'T DOUBLE THAT: The month of August has not been kind to the Richmond offense, but especially in the extra base hit category. From August 2 to August 11, the Squirrels put up six doubles and all of them are thanks to Austin Slater and Hunter Cole. During the first five games of this trip, 36 of the 39 hits were been singles. On Wedneday, Devin Harris and Jesus Galindo became the first Richmond hitters (not named Slater or Cole) to execute a double.

UPCOMING HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS: (8/14) Free Shirt Fridays, Happy Hour & Ladies Night and Grateful Dead Tribute. (8/15) Superblast Saturday and 2nd Annual Guns & Hoses. (8/16) Tribute to the Toy Hall of Fame and Nutzy Bubbles Giveaway. (8/24) Williamsburg Community Night. (8/25) Fredericksburg Community Night. (8/26) Fleece Blanket Giveaway.

BOWIE STARTING PITCHER: RHP Joe Gunkel (6-2, 2.63)

Gunkel prepares for his 18th start of the season and 13th with the Baysox. The right-handed was originally drafted back in 2013 by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round. In his first professional season, he did not make a start (15 appearances, 1.29 ERA, 33 K, 3 BB) with the Lowell Spinners (Short Season). He played with Salem (A+) and Greenville (A) in 2014 and started 15 games (27 outings). Gunkel pitched in the Eastern League first with the Portland Sea Dogs in 2015 at the start. He made just three starts in late May (5.0 innings each). The 23-year-old was traded in early June to the Orioles for big league veteran Alejandro De Aza. This will be Gunkel's first appearance against Richmond. He has gone six or more innings in eight of his 12 starts with Bowie. He played his college ball at West Chester University in Pennsylvannia (Division II). He was part of the school's first ever national championship in 2012. Gunkel started the championship game and tossed a complete game shutout (9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K).

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Eastern League Stories from August 13, 2015


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