Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes
August 29, 2010 - Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (63-69) VS. ALTOONA CURVE (79-54)
LHP CLAYTON TANNER (9-8, 3.42) VS. RHP JARED HUGHES (12-7, 4.22)
August 29, 2010 -- 6:00 PM
Blair County Ballpark
Game #133/Road #67
Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL
Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com
TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Altoona Curve will meet in the finale of a four-game series...Right-hander Rafael Cova blew his sixth save of the season giving up the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning and the winning run in the bottom of the tenth as the Curve came from behind to defeat the Flying Squirrels 3-2 in game three of the series on Saturday night at Blair County Ballpark.
TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Left-hander Clayton Tanner gets the start in game four of the series for the Flying Squirrels...Earned the win in his last outing against Reading 8/24...Allowed three runs on four hits in six innings...Struck out six batters and walked three...Two of the three runs he allowed came on home runs...Recorded eight ground outs and four fly outs...Threw 96 pitches, 56 strikes...All seven home runs he has allowed have been hit by right-handed batters...Six strikeouts matched a season-high...Is 2-2 with a 4.74 ERA in five starts in August...Has allowed 22 runs, 13 earned, on 31 hits in 24 2/3 innings this month (.316 OBA) while striking out 17 and walking 13...Went a combined 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA (22 er/72.2 ip) in 11 starts in June and July...Is 6-3 with a 2.73 ERA in 14 games at The Diamond while going 3-5 with a 4.42 ERA in 11 starts on the road...Left-handed batters are hitting .189 against him (21-for-111)...Is eighth in the Eastern League with a 3.42 ERA...Is 0-4 with a 3.26 ERA in six against Altoona...Has allowed 21 runs, 11 earned, on 33 hits in 30 1/3 innings while striking out 19 and walking 18.
Right-hander Jared Hughes gets the nod in game four of the series for the Curve...Received a no-decision in his last start against Erie 8/24...Allowed one run on six hits in six innings...Struck out six batters and walked two...Start was just his second since giving up 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings at Akron 7/20...Went 4-0 with a 2.96 ERA in seven appearances out of the Altoona bullpen...Is 4-1 in six games, four starts, against Richmond...Has allowed 13 runs, 11 earned, on 36 hits in 34 1/3 innings (2.88 ERA) against the Flying Squirrels while striking out 30 and walking seven...Ranks second the Eastern League with 12 wins and is tied for eighth in strikeouts with 112...Has allowed 153 hits, tied for seventh-most in the league, in 140 2/3 innings (.279 OBA)...Appeared in 17 games including seven starts with Altoona in 2009, bouncing back from an early season injury...Went 1-6 with a 3.88 ERA with 36 strike outs and 16 walks in 46 1/3 innings of work...Was 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in 10 relief appearances...Was 1-4 with a 1.91 ERA in his seven starts...Counting 2010, has spent parts of the last three seasons with Altoona including making six starts in his first stint with the Curve in 2008...Selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft...Attended Cal State Long Beach.
TRAGIC NUMBER: The Flying Squirrels number to be eliminated from playoff contention is two...Any combination of Harrisburg wins and Richmond losses that equal two will eliminate the club from the playoff race...The best possible record for the Flying Squirrels with 10 games remaining entering play tonight is 72-69...The Senators need two wins, the Bowie Baysox need three wins, and the Akron Aeroes need four wins to reach 73 victories, which would be an unobtainable number for the Flying Squirrels...Any additional losses by Richmond decreases the number of wins the three teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race need to eliminate the Squirrels.
EXTRA TOUGH: The Flying Squirrels dropped to 6-8 in extra-innings with last night's 3-2, 10-inning loss at Altoona...It was the 14th extra-inning game this season for the club, tied with Harrisburg for the most extra-inning games played in the Eastern League.
RUNNING ON EMPTY: The Flying Squirrels have dropped four straight games for the seventh time overall this season...Richmond's longest losing streak of the season is five games which has occurred three times, most recently 6/16-6/20...The club has been swept four times this season, most recently getting swept in a three-game series at New Britain 8/17-8/19...The Flying Squirrels have not been swept in a four-game series this season...Overall, Richmond has lost nine of its last 12 games.
THE BELT EFFECT: The Flying Squirrels have scored five runs and have hit .164 (20-for-122) in four games since Brandon Belt was promoted to Triple-A Fresno...In 46 games with Belt in the lineup, Richmond hit .274 (441-for-1610) and averaged 4.85 runs per game (223 r/46 g)...In 86 games without Belt in the order, the Flying Squirrels are batting .240 (693-for-2887) and have averaged 3.35 runs per game (288 r/86 g)...Belt hit .337 (59-for-175) with 26 extra-base hits including nine home runs, 40 RBI, and 26 runs in 46 games with Richmond...The 22-year-old also hit .442 (23-for-52) with runners in scoring position.
THOMAS THE TRAIN: Outfielder Thomas Neal is third in the Eastern League in hits (147) and in doubles (38) and is fourth in total bases (220)...He leads the team with 41 multi-hit games...Since 6/1, Neal is batting .315 (95-for-302) in 79 games with 27 doubles, eight home runs, 41 RBI, and 49 runs scored...He has raised his batting average from .255 to .292 over that span.
DOWN AND OUT: Since shifting to center field from his usual position at shortstop, Ryan Lormand is 0-for-13 with nine strikeouts over his last four games...The 24-year-old has appeared in the outfield in seven games with Richmond including making four starts in center field and one in left...In those seven contests Lormand is 1-for-22 (.045) with 10 strikeouts...In his other 61 games with the Flying Squirrels, he is batting .248 (51-for-206) with 41 strikeouts.
RAY-SIN IN THE SUN: Right-hander Ronnie Ray had his season-long scoreless innings streak end at 13 after allowing an unearned run in his first inning of work on Saturday night in Altoona...Since 6/20, the 26-year-old is 2-0 with three saves and has allowed just five runs, two earned in 34 1/3 innings (0.52 ERA) while striking out 39 batters and walking nine spanning his last 27 outings...Opposing hitters are batting .144 (17-for-118) against him over that stretch.
DOUBLETREE DOWNTOWN DOUBLE PLAYS: The Richmond Flying Squirrels have turned 159 double plays in 132 games including six on 5/7 in Harrisburg...The Flying Squirrels have not gone more than three games without a double play this season...The club leads the Eastern League in double plays turned.
CFS STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Flying Squirrels fell to 15 1/2 games behind the Curve for first place in the Western Division...The deficit matches the most games out of first place for Richmond this season...The club trailed Altoona by 15 1/2 games on 6/24 after a 3-2 loss at Akron...The closest the Flying Squirrels have been to first since 6/24 was 7 1/2 games after a 4-2 win over Altoona on 7/31.
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