EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes vs Binghamton

Published on August 2, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) (54-52) vs. Binghamton Mets (NYM) (59-47)

Sunday, August 2nd -- 1:35 PM

The Diamond -- Richmond, VA

Game #107 - Home Game #58

Radio: Fox Sports 910 (1:05 PM) Internet: FoxSportsRichmond.com

RHP Joan Gregorio (1-1, 3.52) vs. RHP Matt Koch (4-4, 3.18)

Monday, August 3rd OFF

Tuesday, August 4th NHM 7:05 PM LHP Kelvin Marte (8-3, 2.27) vs LHP John Anderson (6-5, 4.54)

TODAY'S FEED: Home Team Grill folks!! I honestly believe that this weekend, weather wise, has been one of the best recently. We have had full moons the past two nights and the humidity has dropped slightly. Today the UV Index is 2..for what it is worth. Also, would like to mention that today is the last day for one of my fellow co-workers in the press box, Morgan Conklin. It has been a pleasure working with her and I am sure I can speak on behalf of everyone for that. We wish her well back to Virginia Tech...however UVA is still better.

Giants update - Mike Leake will make his Giants debut today against the Rangers.

SERIES AT A GLANCE: There were a plethora of opportunities to deposit the check, but the Squirrels came empty-handed for most of the night in the 6-5 loss to the Mets. Richmond outhit the B-Mets 14-7, but went 3-16 with runners in scoring position and also left 10 runners on base. Hunter Cole launched a two-run moonshot and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Richmond snapped a six-game skid with a 6-1 victory over Binghamton thanks to a long, unexpected bullpen performance in game two of this four-game installment. Starter Joe Biagini departed the game after just 21 pitches with back pain. The Richmond relievers went on to throw eight shutout innings. In major contrast to game two, the offense and bullpen completely dissolved for the Squirrels as they fell 11-3 to the Mets in game one. Richmond's bullpen accounted for 10 of the 11 runs. The Squirrels archived just five hits in this game, despite the score being 3-3 after six innings. Binghamton racked up 18 hits, which is the most an opponent has compiled against the RVA in a game this season. In addition, eight of those hits were for extra bases (five doubles, three triples). This is the first time these two teams have played one another since their first collision at The Diamond mid May (5/11-5/13). Richmond took two of the three games. The Squirrels bullpen was impressive in this series with 12 scoreless innings scattered over the three contests. This is the second of three meetings between these two clubs during the regular season. They will face off again in mid August (8/18-8/20) in Binghamton, NY and this will be the second to last ballpark Richmond discovers in 2015 (@ Akron, 8/27-8/30). They also posted the best record in July (19-10) and the lowest ERA during the recent month as a pitching staff (2.18).

TURN THE PAGE: The Squirrels experienced a small set back and finished July with an even 15-15 record. Richmond is six games behind the first place Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles). The club slipped down to fourth place in the standings for the first time since July 19. The Squirrels were just one back back from July 21 to July 25. Richmond went 36-22 during May and June. However, it is still remarkable the way the team practically erased the 3-14 start back in April. Richmond dealt with widespread results in July. The club participated in four extra inning games within the first 10 games of the month and lost all of them. They compiled a six-game winning streak for the fourth time this season (7/19-7/24) and that was immediately followed by a six-game losing streak. The Squirrels were kept off the scoreboard for 23 innings during that losing streak at the end of the month. The RVA documented their shortest nine inning game in franchise history on July 29 (1 hour, 54 minutes) and also their longest nine inning game of season on July 30 (3 hours, 33 minutes).

OUT OF THE GATES SPRINTING: The offense has not wasted any time in an effort to help out their starting pitchers. In the last two games, the Squirrels have posted nine of their 11 runs during the first three innings. Six of these runs occured in the first inning. Mitch Delfino has been the bulk of the reason for this surge. He has driven in four of these early runs. Hunter Cole also provided a quick spark with his first inning homerun on Saturday. Scoring first has been a theme all season as the team has outscored their opponents by 39 runs in the first two innings.

HIDDEN BULLPEN TREASURES: Kyle Crick showed recent signs of dramatic improvement over the course of the last week or so. He has not allowed a run in his previous five outings (one inning each). In addition, Crick has only issued three walks compared to nine strikeouts in these five innings. This is a right-hander who transitioned to the bullpen at the start of July and leads the Eastern League with 55 walks. If you want a groundball out, just go find Squirrels relief pitcher Tyler Mizenko. On Saturday, the right-hander tossed two innings out of the bullpen and every out was from a groundball. The remarkable consistency does not stop there. In his last three outings (4.0 IP total), all of Mizenko's outs have been curtosy of the groundball. The last time Mizenko recorded a fly ball out was on July 25 against Erie in the bottom of the eighth inning. Recently, he has been a lock down reliever as a whole with just one earned run allowed in his last 11.1 innings.

UPCOMING HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS: (8/2) Kids Club Nutzy Cape Giveaway & ASK Night. (8/4) Charlottesville Community Night. (8/5) Tri-Cities Community Night, Tribute to Peanuts. (8/6) Thursday Night In Your Face Fireworks and Faith Night #2.

RICHMOND STARTING PITCHER: RHP Joan Gregorio (1-1, 3.52)

Gregorio, 23, has appeared in 31 games for the Squirrels this year and today will be his fourth spot-start (third straight) of the season. The 6-7 right-hander unleashed a season high 62 pitches in hist last start on July 27 (3.2 IP, 4 H, 1R, 3 K). He was superb in his second start on July 21 with a season high four shutout innings with 52 pitches. He set down the first 10 batters he faced in this game and ultimately absorbed only one hit. Joan has plenty of experience as a starter. He has started 75 games dating back to his first professional season in 2010. Gregorio held a 4.37 ERA and started 17 games in 2014 while in Single-A (Augusta & San Jose). His longest bullpen outing in 2015 so far is 3.1 innings back on June 25. He was named the Giants #18 prospect following the 2014 season. He was signed as an international free agent by the Giants on March 2, 2010.

BINGHAMTON STARTING PITCHER: RHP Matt Koch (4-4, 3.18)

Koch, 24, will make just his fourth start of the season and 31st appearance with the B-Mets this season. Michael Fulmer was scheduled to start today, but recently was involved a trade that sent him to the Tigers in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes. Koch made starts in his first three outings of the year before he transferred to the bullpen. He faced the Squirrels twice out of the bullpen on May 11 (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R) and May 13 (1.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R). The Iowa native was a full-time starter in 2014 while in St. Lucie (A+) with 22 starts (team high 120.1 IP and 141 H). Koch was a third round selection by the Mets in 2012. He played his college ball at Louisville.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Eastern League Stories from August 2, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central