Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes
Published on July 8, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (41-45) VS. HARRISBURG SENATORS (40-46)
RHP MICHAEL MAIN (0-1, 0.00) VS. LHP AARON THOMPSON (4-10, 5.79)
July 8, 2010 -- 7:00 PM
Metro Bank Park
Game #87/Road #43
Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL
Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com
TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Harrisburg Senators will meet in game three of a four-game series...Harrisburg short stop Danny Espinosa drove in all three runs for the Senators with a two-run homer and the go-ahead RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 3-2 Harrisburg win over Richmond on Tuesday night at Metro Bank Park.
TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Michael Main gets the start in the finale of the series for the Flying Squirrels...Suffered the loss in his Double-A debut 7/3 against Erie...Allowed four runs, none earned, on two hits in 1 2/3 innings...Struck out two batters and walked two...Allowed all four runs in the second inning...Threw 53 pitches, 31 strikes...Threw 33 pitches to the six batters he faced in the second inning...Went three balls in the count to four of the nine batters he faced...Outing was his shortest of the season...Had gone at least five innings in each of his first 15 starts with Bakersfield...Lost for the first time since 6/9 at Stockton (three starts)...Had struck out more batters than he walked over his previous seven starts...Acquired from Texas along with right-hander Chris Ray 7/1 in exchange for catcher Bengie Molina...Was promoted to Double-A Frisco 6/30, but did not appear in a game...Began season with Advanced-A Bakersfield... Went 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 starts including one seven-inning complete game...Struck out 72 batters and walked 21 in 91 1/3 innings...Allowed a California League-high 14 home runs...Ranked 5th in the league in innings-pitched and 9th in ERA...Went 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts in June...Went seven innings or more in four of his final six starts with Bakersfield...Went 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA over that stretch (17R/11ER in 40 IP)... Was the DH in eight games with AZL Rangers in 2007 and went 8-for-30 (.267) at the plate with a double and six RBI... Originally selected by the Texas Rangers in the first round (#24 overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft...Entered the 2010 season rated as the #21 prospect in the Texas Rangers farm system according to Baseball America.
Left-hander Aaron Thompson gets the nod in the series finale for the Senators...Suffered the loss in his last outing 7/3 at Trenton...Allowed five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings...Struck out two batters and walked two...Tied with New Britain's Mike McCardell for the Eastern League lead in losses with 10...Was 2-0 over his previous three starts with a 0.98 ERA...Allowed five runs, two earned, on 13 hits over his previous 18 1/3 innings...Has allowed 108 hits in 84 innings (.316 OBA), tied for third-most hits allowed in the Eastern League...Has allowed five runs or more in eight of his 16 starts...Made one spot-start with Triple-A Syracuse 4/24 and earned the win...Allowed one run on five hits in five innings...Struck out four batters and walked three...Acquired from the Florida Marlins in exchange for first baseman Nick Johnson July 31, 2009...Went 0-3 with a 3.31 ERA in six starts with Harrisburg in 2009...Began the season with Double-A Jacksonville and went 5-9 with a 4.11 ERA in 20 starts...Limited to only 18 total outings in 2008 due to a should injury...Went 2-5 with a 5.62 ERA in 16 starts with Double-A Carolina...Went 8-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 24 starts with Low-A Greensboro in 2006...Struck out 114 batters and walked 35 in 134 innings...Named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star...Originally selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1st round (#22 overall) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft...Enters the 2010 season rates as the #12 prospect in the Washington Nationals farm system according to Baseball America.
LAME DUCK FINALE: With last night's 4-0 win over the Flying Squirrels, the Senators clinched the season series between the two clubs...Richmond is currently 3-6 against Harrisburg entering tonight's season finale between the two clubs...The Flying Squirrels have won six of the last seven series openers but are just 4-11 following their series-opening wins...The club is 2-4 over its previous six series...Overall on the season, the club is 18-8 in series openers and 11-14 in series finales.
NO "O": The Flying Squirrels were shutout for the sixth time in last night's 4-0 loss to the Senators...It was Harrisburg's seventh shutout of the season, matching Richmond for second-most in the Eastern League...It was the second time over the last five games that the Flying Squirrels were shutout...The Erie SeaWolves blanked Richmond 6-0 on 7/3...Between the shutouts, the club's offense hit .304 (31-for-102) including going 10-for-29 (.345) with runners in scoring position...The two hits for the Flying Squirrels last night were the fewest for the club since mustering only a pair of hits in a 9-1 loss at Binghamton 5/26.
TAKING THE BELT-WAY: First baseman Brandon Belt went 2-for-3 last night with a walk...In five games with Richmond, the 22-year-old is 8-for-17 (.471) with two home runs, two RBI, and three runs scored...In 82 games combined between Advanced-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond, Belt leads all of minor league baseball in batting average (.388) and on-base percentage (.496) and ranks fourth in slugging percentage (.640) and is tied for fourth in hits (111).
NO SHOCKER: Third baseman Conor Gillaspie has hits in 10 of his last 13 games and is batting .386 (17-for-44) over that stretch with a double, six RBI, and two runs scored...He has struck out six times and has walked twice...He has raised his batting average from .241 to .263 over that stretch...Richmond is 8-5 over the last 13 games.
DOUBLETREE DOWNTOWN DOUBLE PLAYS: The Richmond Flying Squirrels have turned 114 double plays in 86 games including six on 5/7 in Harrisburg...The club leads the Eastern League in double plays turned and has not gone more than two games without turning a double play.
CFS STAT OF THE NIGHT: Right-hander Craig Westcott suffered his first loss in 29 professional outings last night...The 24-year-old entered the game 13-0 with a 2.14 ERA through his first 28 pro outings including 21 starts...In his previous 21 starts, the team he was starting for went 19-2...Advanced-A San Jose was 12-1 in Westcott's 13 starts.
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