EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Flying Squirrels Game Notes vs. Reading

Published on July 7, 2012 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


Richmond Flying Squirrels (41-46) vs. Reading Phillies (47-39)

Saturday, July 7th -- 6:35 PM

The Diamond -- Richmond, VA

Game # 88 - Home Game # 42

Radio: Sports Radio 910 AM (6:05 PM) Internet: sportsradio910.com

RHP Justin Fitzgerald (3-6, 4.45) vs. RHP Jonathan Pettibone (7-5, 3.27)

SERIES AT A GLANCE: The Flying Squirrels will attempt to end a two-game slide when they take on the Reading Phillies in the opener of a three-game series at The Diamond tonight. Last night, Wilmer Flores went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored and Mark Cohoon allowed just one earned run in seven innings as the Binghamton Mets defeated Richmond 8-4. With the win, Binghamton claimed a series victory in the three-game set. Squirrels starter Mike Kickham (6-7) took the loss after giving up four hits and three earned runs along with five walks and two strikeouts in five innings pitched. Cohoon (4-7) earned the win for Binghamton. The Flying Squirrels went 5-5 against Reading in 2011 including a 2-1 mark at The Diamond. Richmond is 16-24 all-time against the R-Phils and the club is 7-6 all-time in the River City. The two teams will meet 16 times in 2012, 7 times in Reading and 9 times in Richmond. The R-Phils claimed the opening series by winning two out of three games between the clubs at The Diamond last week (4/16-4/18). Reading also took two out of three from Richmond at FirstEnergy Stadium (4/24-4/26) and three out of four in Reading (6/26-6/29). Following this series, the two teams will meet again for a three-game set in the River City (7/31-8/2).

TODAY'S PITCHERS: RHP Justin Fitzgerald vs. RHP Jonathan Pettibone Fitzgerald: Makes his seventeenth start for the Flying Squirrels tonight. In his last start, Fitzgerald allowed four hits and one earned run along with four walks and four strikeouts in six innings pitched at Akron Monday. He received a no-decision in Richmond's 9-5 triumph in 11 innings, which snapped a string of eight consecutive starts in which the Flying Squirrels lost with Fitzgerald on the mound. Tonight's game will be Fitzgerald's fourth career start against Reading. He is 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA against the R-Phils. Last season, Fitzgerald went 9-9 and posted a 3.51 ERA in a team-high 27 starts with Richmond. He also led the 2011 Flying Squirrels pitching staff in innings pitched (146.1), finished second on the club in wins (9) and walks allowed (55) and third in strikeouts (111). As a result, Fitzgerald was named an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star. He also posted a 1-0 mark with a 2.70 ERA in two playoff starts and earned the win in the clinching game of Richmond's sweep of Harrisburg in the Western Division- Championship Series. In 2010, he posted a 10-6 record with a 3.45 ERA in 26 appearances, including 25 starts, with Advanced-A San Jose and earned a spot on the California League Mid-Season All-Star team. Fitzgerald owns a 25-23 record with a 3.72 ERA in 126 career minor league appearances, including 69 starts. The Santa Rosa, Calif. native was selected by the Giants in the 11th round of the 2008 June Draft out of UC-Davis.

Pettibone: Makes his sixteenth start of the season for Reading tonight. In his last start, Pettibone allowed three hits and one earned run along with two walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings pitched against at Bowie June 23. He earned his seventh win in Reading's 3-1 triumph. The right-hander spent the entire 2011 season with Advanced-A Clearwater, where he went 10-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 27 starts. Tonight's game will be his first career start against the Flying Squirrels. He boasts a career record of 27-27 with a 3.39 ERA in 76 appearances, including 74 starts. Pettibone was originally selected by Philadelphia in the 3rd round of the 2008 June Draft out of Esperanza (CA) High School.

NIFTY NICK: Flying Squirrels outfielder Nick Liles went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a walk in last night's loss to Binghamton and extended his current hitting streak to seven games, which is his longest hit streak of the season. During this stretch, Liles is batting .400 (12-for-30) with a triple, a double, six RBIs and five runs scored. The former Western Carolina University standout has had multi-hit performances in three of his last six games. Liles' longest career hit streak is 21 games from August 15 through September 6, 2010 when he played for Low-A Augusta. After the season ended on September 6, Liles hit safely in his first three games the following season with Advanced-A San Jose (April 10-12, 2011).

ERROR MESSAGE: Richmond third baseman Daniel Mayora, a 2012 Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star, has endured a rough season in the field. In last night's loss to Binghamton, Mayora committed a fielding error, which allowed a run to score in the B-Mets' four-run sixth inning. It was his 22nd error of the season, the most for any Eastern League third baseman. Bowie's Zelous Wheeler has the next highest error total for third basemen with 15 errors.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Gary Brown continues to produce at the plate. After going 2-for-5 with a home run and a double last night, Brown, who recently had a team-high 12-game hitting streak, has now hit safely in 18 of his last 19 games.

He has reached base in 23 consecutive games, the longest on-base streak for a Flying Squirrel batter in 2012. During this stretch, Brown is batting .398 (33-for-83) with two home runs, a triple, eleven doubles, 10 RBIs and 17 runs. Additionally, he is 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts during this period and has raised his overall average from .236 on June 15 to .275 as of today. With two hits last night, Brown now has 29 multi-hit games this season, a team-high for Richmond.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from July 7, 2012


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