EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes: vs. New Britain

Published on June 22, 2015 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) (37-30) vs. New Britain Rock Cats (COL) (38-31)

Monday, June 22th -- 12:05 PM

The Diamond -- Richmond, VA

Game #68 - Home Game #36

Radio: Fox Sports 910 (11:35 AM) Internet: FoxSportsRichmond.com

RHP Joe Biagini (6-3, 1.56) vs. RHP Shane Carle (7-4, 3.40)

SERIES AT A GLANCE: The Squirrels leaned on the bullpen and swept the Rock Cats in a twin-bill Sunday, 9-1 in Game 1, and 3-1 in Game 2. Reliever Edwin Quirarte shined in the first game as the right-hander made just his second career start. Quirarte tossed three innings and gave up just one run. Angel Villalona, Mac Williamson, and Engel Beltre each posted two hits and two RBI's. In the second game, Pedro Rodriguez delivered a memorable performance on the mound. Rodriguez lasted a season-high five shutout innings and only allowed two hits. This was his 100th career appearance in the Minor Leagues and only his ninth start. Richmond has now taken three of the first four games to claim this long five-game series. The Squirrels are now 12-1-1 in their last 14 series. The club is also a season best seven games above .500 (37-30). The only game the Rock Cats have won so far this series came on Saturday in a 6-2 victory. On Friday, Kelvin Marte pitched the Squirrels to their first victory over the Rock Cats this season, 1-0. The southpaw tossed six shutout innings, only allowed two hits, and recorded a career high eight strikeouts. It was the fourth time this season Richmond has posted a shutout win. This marks the third series between the two teams so far in 2015. The previous meetings occurred during the 15-game losing streak for Richmond. They battled first at The Diamond (4/23-4/26) and in the three defeats, the Richmond bullpen allowed 11 of the 17 New Britain runs. There was supposed to be a fourth game in the initial series, but rain took over on April 25 and the game was postponed (doubleheader occurred Sunday). In the second meeting in New Britain (5/1-5/3), the Squirrels outhit the Rock Cats 34-26 in the three games, but still got swept. Richmond left a season-high 13 runners on base in the second game of that series. These two squads will tangle four more times this year and that includes the lone game left in this series, which is also the last trip New Britain will make to Richmond during the regular season. The Rock Cats enter with a 7-14 record in June after beginning May with a franchise record 13-game winning streak. The Squirrels are 14-5 in this current month.

THE CLIMB TO THE PEAK: The top of the mountain is getting closer. The Squirrels placed themselves into a tie with the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles) for second place in the Western Division Thursday. That marked the first time Richmond has held second place since April 15, when the team was just 3-3. The club is back in third place after Saturday, but they still only trail the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) by 3.0 games for the division-lead. That's not too shabby when you factor in that the Squirrels had plummeted to a season-worst 11.5 games behind the Curve on May 3rd after dropping their 15th straight game and falling to 3-17. They are a league-best 34-13 since that day

CLOSE CALLS: The Squirrels have played in 24 one-run games this year and have come out on top in 13 of them. They have already participated in 10 one-run games in June, which is more than they played in May (7 times) and April (7 times). Eight of those games have been decided by the outcome of 4-3. Richmond has won six of them. The "4-3" final has occurred more than any other final score for the Squirrels in 2015.

MEAT OF THE ORDER: Mac Williamson, Devin Harris, and Ricky Oropesa have been up and down through June. Willamson has at least a hit in 12 of the 19 games in the month. In June, the outfielder has only recorded RBI's in back-to-back games twice. Williamson went 3-5 with three RBI's and two doubles in the doubleheader Sunday. He has just four doubles total in this month. Meanwhile, Harris is batting just .177 since the calendar turned, but has managed to remain at the top of the Eastern League with 22 doubles this year. The 27-year-old has not compiled a hitting-streak longer than two games in June. He also has not recorded an RBI in his last six games. Lastly, Oropesa has swung the hottest bat out of the three in June with a .338 average. This includes eight multi-hit games, which is the most on the team during this month.

BEAST IN A BOTTLE: It is pretty remarkable what RHP Joe Biagini has served on his platter so far in his first season at the AA level. He is 6-3 with the second best ERA in the Eastern League (1.56). Biagini has lasted at least six innings in nine of his 11 starts and has only surrendered more than two walks in an outing once all season. Last year, the 25-year-old had a 4.01 ERA and walked more than three batters in seven of his 23 starts with A(Adv) San Jose. Most recently, Biagini tossed a season high eight shutout innings and only gave up two hits (none after the second inning) in his last start at Harrisburg on June 16.

SETTING THE TONE: Kelby Tomlinson has provided a gigantic amount of production for the Squirrels' offense. He is second in the Eastern League with a .326 batting average, is tied for second in total hits with 79, and has 16 stolen bases which is good for second best in the league. The 25-year-old leadoff hitter's recent on-base streak ended at 17 games after he failed to reach base in Game 2 of the doubleheader Sunday. Tomlinson also carries a team-leading 25 multi-hit games in 2015. At this point in the season last year, he was batting just .249. The second baseman already has six more doubles than he did in the entirety of 2014.

THE EARLY ADVANTAGE: The Squirrels have developed a habit of getting off to fast starts this season, and currently have outscored their opposition by 39 runs in the first two innings. The hold a 38-18 advantage in the first inning (+20) and a 36-17 edge (+19) in the second inning. However, the 7th inning has been the team's most prolific frame as they have scored 40 runs in that stanza. The 8th inning has been the most troublesome for Richmond as they been outscored 32-22 (-10) in the 8th inning. Also, the first game of Sunday's double-dip was the first time since June 7 the Squirrels did not crack the scoreboard first.

SAVING THE DAY: Squirrels' closer Josh Osich has been a busy man in June. The left-hander has appeared in 11 of Richmond's previous 19 games. During that span, he has tossed 11 innings (one per outing), given up just seven hits, two runs and racked up 13 strikeouts. In four of his last seven outings, he has not allowed a base runner. Osich recorded his 19th save on Sunday against the Rock Cats. His 19 saves lead the Eastern League. 18 of his 19 saves have come since May 5th.

UPCOMING HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS: (6/22) Mommy & Me Day at The Diamond. (6/23) Golden Girls Tribute/Betty White's 1/2 Birthday. (6/24) ZOOperstars! Appearance. (6/25) Fireworks/The Many Faces of Robin Williams Jersey Auction presented by Your Local Ford Dealers. (6/26) Free Shirt Fridays & Happy Hour presented by Coke Zero/Girl Scout Sleepover.

NEW BRITAIN STARTING PITCHER: RHP Shane Carle (7-4, 3.40)

Carle will make his 14th start with the Rock Cats this year and is in his first stint with the Rockies in 2015. The right-hander went seven innings and fanned a season high seven batters in his last start (6/17). However, he allowed four earned runs. This is the first time he has surrendered four or more earned runs in a start since May 7. Carle did make one start for AAA Albuquerque this season (6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER). The 23-year-old was drafted in the 10th round by the Pirates in 2013 and was traded to Colorado in November 2014. Carle did not make it past the A(Adv) level in his two seasons with the Pittsburgh organization. He played his college ball at Long Beach State and led the team in innings (93.1) and strikeouts (75) in 2013.

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Eastern League Stories from June 22, 2015


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