EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes vs. Harrisburg

Published on August 24, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) (62-63)

vs.

Harrisburg Senators (WASH) (61-66)

Monday, August 24th -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond -- Richmond, VA

Game #126 - Home Game #65

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

Richmond RHP Joe Biagini (9-6, 2.59) vs. RHP John Simms (2-2, 3.73)

Tuesday, August 25th HAR 7:05 PM Richmond LHP Kelvin Marte (9-5, 2.48) vs. RHP Lucas Giolito (2-1, 3.77) Fox Sports 910/FoxSportsRichmond.com

Wednesday, August 26th HAR 7:05 PM Richmond LHP Matt Lujan (7-5, 3.45) vs. RHP Colin Bates (5-4, 3.98) Fox Sports 910/FoxSportsRichmond.com

SERIES AT A GLANCE: The Flying Squirrels return home for a brief three game homestand against the Harrisburg Senators on Monday night. It is the second consecutive three game homestand for the Squirrels as they play a majority of contests in August on the road. 18 of 29 games are away in August, however the Squirrels do finish the season at home with a four game series against Reading. Richmond enters this series after dropping two out of three games against Trenton and avoided the sweep on Sunday night with a 3-2 victory. The Squirrels finished the road trip to Binghamton and Trenton with a 2-3 record, with one game canceled due to rain that will not be made up. Harrisburg returns to The Diamond for the third and final time this season. Richmond has one more series against the Senators at Metro Bank Park next week. The Squirrels play a total of 19 games against Harrisburg this year and are currently 7-6 against them. Harrisburg took two out of three last time these two teams met (7/7-7/9) at The Diamond.

NOT MUCH OFF THE TABLE: The lead off hitter for the Squirrels has had a tough time setting the tone recently for the offense. Over the last seven games, the first batter in the order has been either Myles Schroder, Engel Beltre, Rando Moreno and Jesus Galindo. During these seven contests, the unit has gone 2-24 when placed in the lead off spot. They have scored just three of the 17 Richmond runs throughout this stretch of time with nine strikeouts and five walks. The last time a lead off hitter for Richmond recorded a multi-hit game was on August 11th when Schroder went 2-4 against Bowie.

ROSTER SHUFFLE: The Richmond roster experienced a busy day on Thursday with a multitude of transactions (see back page). RHP Stephen Johnson was shipped to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal that brought 37-year-old MLB outfielder Marlon Byrd to San Francisco. Johnson left Richmond as a strikeout machine. He had the third highest strikeout/9 innings ratio in the league among relievers (58 IP, 68 K, ratio of 10.55). In his last 9.1 innings out of the bullpen with the Squirrels, Johnson only allowed one earned run.

LEAST OF THE EAST: The Flying Squirrels have struggled against teams in the Eastern Division. Richmond fell to 3-9 against Eastern Division foe Trenton with the series loss this weekend and are just 22-32 against the opposite division. Despite those struggles, the Squirrels have held their own within the Western Division to stay afloat in the standings. Richmond does not have a loosing record against any of the same division opponents and are 6-0 against Akron, 11-10 vs. Bowie, 10-10 vs. Altoona, and 7-6 vs. Harrisburg and 5-5 vs. Erie.

SERIES SLUMP AND ROAD SLUMP: The Squirrels have only won one series in their last eight attempts. The only series victory came against New Hampshire (8/4-8/6). This stretch includes a series sweep at the hands of Altoona from July 27 to July 29. It was the first time the team got swept since early May (5/1-5/3) against New Britain. The unchartered territory has caused for some drop off as well with the team recently. They have won just five of their previous 18 road games. In the road wins, they have won in convincing fashion for the most part by outscoring their opponent 29-13 in those five contests.

UPCOMING HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS: (8/24) Williamsburg Community Night. (8/25) Fredericksburg Community Night. (8/26) Fleece Blanket Giveaway & In Your-Face Fireworks. (9/4) Free Shirt Fridays, Happy Hour & Ladies Night. (9/5) Superblast Saturday and 20th Anniversary of Billy Madison. (9/6) Kids Club Metal Lunchbox Giveaway. (9/7) Bark In the Park #3 - Labor Day.

WHERE'S MYLES? Its a constant game of guessing where uber utility man Myles Schroder will be in the lineup and on the field. Schroder played third base and hit 8th in Sunday's game. It was the 10th time he has started at third and his 7th time hitting 8th. Here are his other starts by position and batting order: Leadoff (26) 2nd (4), 6th (24), 7th (22), 8th (7). 1B (6), 2B (21), 3B (10), LF (25), CF (10), RF (7)

HARRISBURG STARTING PITCHER: RHP John Simms (2-2, 3.73)

Simms will make his 6th 2015 start with the Senators and his 20th overall. Simms made 14 starts (15 apearances) with Advanced-A Potomac before being promoted to Double-A on 7/27. The 23 year-old made his Harrisburg debut in 2014 and appeared in 11 starts for the Senators, posting a 2-6 record with a 5.03 ERA. This will be his first appearance against the Squirrles this season and his 4th overall. He made three starts last year vs. Richmonfd and held the Squirrles to three runs on 18 hits over 17.2 innings without recording a decision. He will be pitching on regular four days rest and last tme out went: 7.0 IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 2BB, 2K on 92 pitches in a win over Akron. The Woodlands Texas native initially selected in the 39th round out of College Park High School by the Washington Nationals but did not sign. He opted to play college baseball at Rice University and played three seasons for the Owls. He made 24 appearances (14 starts) his Junior season and went 8-5 with a 2.51 ERA. The Nationals opted to select him in the draft again, this time in the 1th round of the 2013 draft. He signed a $100,000 bonus and so far has shown decent command over his thre professional seasons. Simms has walked just 2.47 batters per nine innings pitched and has been known to feature a curve and a splitter in his repetoire. He currently ranks as the #28 prospect in the system acording to Baseball America.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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