EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes: vs. Harrisburg

Published on July 8, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) (43-39) vs. Harrisburg Senators (WAS) (42-43)

Wednesday, July 8th -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond -- Richmond, VA

Game #83 - Home Game #45

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

LHP Kelvin Marte (7-1, 2.39) vs. RHP Colin Bates (3-0, 3.65)

SERIES AT A GLANCE: Both offenses did not have much in the tank on Wednesday. The Squirrels ultimately fell 2-1 in 13 innings to the Senators in game one of this three-game set. Edwin Quirarte was brilliant, however, in just his second start of the season. He threw a season high six scoreless innings and recorded six strikeouts. The two clubs went a combined 0-17 with runners in scoring position. Harrisburg's runs came thanks to two sacrifice flies. Harrisburg's last trip to the RVA resulted in a series sweep in favor of Richmond (5/26-5/28). It was a slugfest for the Squirrels as they outscored this Western Division foe 21-5 during those three games. Richmond tallied 12 runs (tied for most runs in a game this year) on May 27 in a shutout victory. The Senators rebounded, however, once this matchup switched over to Metro Bank Park. After Tuesday, Harrisburg has captured wins in four of the last five matchups and this includes taking three out of four games in the recent series just a week ago (6/30-7/3). These four victories were each decided by two runs or less and three of the games went to extra innings. The Squirrels will face the Senators nine more times the remainder of the season.

SLOW CLIMB: The Squirrels fell to third place after Tuesday's defeat, but sit just a half game back of the Altoona Curve. Following Monday, Richmond briefly leapfrogged into a tie for second place with the Curve. The Squirrels were in 3rd place in the Western Division for 24 days in June and are currently 3.5 games back of the first place Bowie Baysox. There was a small span of time (6/17-6/19) where Richmond also held a share of second place and that was for the first time since being 3-3 on April 15.

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Squirrels are 2-5 in extra inning contests this season. Richmond has lost to Harrisburg in three of them. The Squirrels lost in 13 innings on July 1 and in 10 innings on July 3. Richmond's bullpen yielded all six runs during 11 frames in the 13-inning game while six different relievers were utilized. The 10-inning game against Harrisburg marked just the second time all year Richmond failed to win after controlling the lead through eight frames. If you turn the pages all the way back to April, the Squirrels and Baysox played 14-inning marathons in two of first three games to start the season. Both of these games took more than four hours and 40 minutes to complete.

3...2...1...LIFTOFF: The calendar flipped to July and all of a sudden there has been a power surge for the Squirrels. The team has hit at least a home run in five of the seven games so far during this month. In total, Richmond has already launched seven home runs in July. In drastic contrast, the club hit nine homers during all of June (28 games). Devin Harris, Rando Moreno, Mitch Delfino, Hunter Cole, and Eliezer Zambrano have each gone yard once. Moreno's first home run of the season came on July 1 and Cole smashed his first Double-A long ball on July 4. Myles Schroder produced the other two home runs during this month. The Squirrels have 37 homers this year and that is tied for the second fewest in the league.

FREE PASSES IN POSITIVE STAFF MEETING: The three starting pitchers for the Squirrels during the Akron series (7/4-7/6) provided a talented opening act in each game. Joe Biagini logged 6.1 shutout innings in game one of the series. In game two, Adalberto Mejia pitched a shutout in six frames and only absorbed two hits. Tyler Beede lasted seven innings Monday and just allowed two runs. However, getting out of jams was at a premium for these hurlers and walks highlighted the cause for it. The three starters combined to issue 11 walks. Mejia struggled the most (five walks), but left six base runners stranded in a stretch of three innings from his outing. The RubberDucks stranded 24 base runners in total through this series, while the Squirrels only left 17.

MY OH MY, MYLES: It took a little time, but the Squirrels have started to see new contributions from players since the lineup shuffle due to transactions. Myles Schroder was placed in the leadoff spot for the first time this season on July 3 and has not moved in the order since then. He is 5-18 with already four runs, two home runs, and six RBI's in four games at the top of the lineup. He has been slotted in six other different spots in the order and has scored nine runs along with 14 RBI's. Schroder posted a seven-game hit streak (6/30-7/6) and that is his longest of the season.

RUN PRODUCERS: Since the departure of Mac Williamson to Triple-A Sacramento on June 26, the middle of the lineup has struggled to adjust. Williamson left as the team's second best run producer with 42 RBI's and hit an impressive .293 with runners in scoring position. Devin Harris and Ricky Oropesa continue to cement themselves in the four and five slots respectively in the lineup. Harris is hitting just .241 with runners in scoring position and only has one RBI in his last nine games. Also, he has 11 strikeouts in the previous five games. Meanwhile, Oropesa recorded just his first RBI Monday since June 23 and went just 3-32 at the plate from 6/23-7/3. However, Hunter Cole is making a presence in what used to be Williamson's three spot in the order. The 22-year old is 11-38 (.289) since joining the Squirrels on June 26.

UPCOMING HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS: (7/8) Doug E. Fresh Appearance. (7/9) Fireworks/90's Game Show Night presented by Your Local Ford Dealers.

HARRISBURG STARTING PITCHER: Colin Bates (3-0, 3.65)

Bates will make his 17th appearance on the season for the Senators, and just his seventh start. The 27-year-old was drafted in the 23rd round in 2010 by the Nationals out of North Carolina and has been typically a relief pitcher during his entire career (152 appearances and 19 starts). Bates is currently playing in his second season in Double-A with Harrisburg, and that is the highest level he has reached so far. He made just one start in 2014 and produced a 3.81 ERA out of the bullpen. The Illinois native came out of the bullpen in six games against the Squirrels last year and went at least three innings in three of those outings. He has faced Richmond twice this year. On June 17, he came out of the bullpen to pitch two frames. Recently, Bates made his last start against the Squirrels and went a season long seven innings, but let up 10 hits and four runs.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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