Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes
April 21, 2011 - Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (5-8) VS. ALTOONA CURVE (6-6)
RHP JUSTIN FITZGERALD (2-0, 0.90) VS. LHP AARON THOMPSON (2-0, 0.75)
April 21, 2011 -- 6:35 PM
The Diamond
Game #14/Home #8
Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL
Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com
TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Altoona Curve will meet in the opener of a three-game series...The Thunder completed a three-game sweep of the Flying Squirrels as Austin Romine went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in Trenton's 6-3 win in front of 3,743 fans on Wednesday night at Waterfront Park.
TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Justin Fitzgerald gets the start in the series opener for the Flying Squirrels...Earned the win in his last start 4/15 at Altoona...Allowed one run on six hits in five innings...Struck out three batters and walked one...Three of the six hits he allowed came in the first inning...Lone run allowed came on a two-out single from Miles Durham in the bottom of the third inning (Shelby Ford thrown out at home on the play for third out)...Retired the final six batters he faced...Retired the leadoff batter in four of his five innings on the mound...Only leadoff man to reach (Brock Holt single) scored...Recorded five ground outs and five fly outs...Threw 80 pitches, 45 strikes...Threw 25 pitches, 13 strikes in the first inning...Threw first-pitch strikes to seven of the 20 batters he faced...Club has scored 11 of its 37 runs in his two starts....Spent the entire 2010 season with Advanced-A San Jose...First season as a starter after appearing exclusively in relief in his first two pro campaigns...Went 10-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 26 games, 25 starts...Struck out 116 batters and walked 46 in 146 innings...Ranked 4th in the California League in ERA (3.45), 3rd in opponent batting average (.258) and tied for 5th with 10 wins....Named a California League Mid-Season All-Star...Made three postseason starts with San Jose, going 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (4R/18.2 IP)...Made 39 relief appearances with Low-A Augusta in 2009...Went 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA, striking out 63 and walking 27 in 56 innings...Made pro debut in 2008, going a combined 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 17 appearances...Selected in the 11th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft...Attended the University of California-Davis.
Left-hander Aaron Thompson gets the nod in the series opener for the Curve...Earned the win in his last start 4/14 against Richmond...Allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings...Struck out five batters and walked one...Worked around a Jose Flores leadoff triple in the fifth inning (throw out at the plate) and a two on, no out jam in the sixth...Retired the first 10 batters he faced...Threw 76 pitches, 55 strikes...Threw first pitch strikes to 18 of the 22 batters he faced...Named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week (4/7/11-4/17/11)...Claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates off of waivers 12/24/10...Went 4-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 26 starts with Harrisburg in 2010...Tied for the Eastern League lead with 13 losses, while allowing the second-most runs (96) and the sixth-most hits (164)...Made Triple-A debut in one spot-start with Syracuse 4/24/10 and earned the win...Allowed one run on five hits in five innings...Struck out four batters and walked three...Entered the 2010 season rated as the #12 prospect in the Washington Nationals farm system according to Baseball America....Acquired by the Nationals 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
WASHED UP AT WATERFRONT PARK: The Flying Squirrels were swept in a series for the first time this season after losing all three games in Trenton Monday through Wednesday...The club was swept four times in 2010 and was last swept in a three-game series 8/17/10-8/19/10 at New Britain.
ROAD WEARY: The Flying Squirrels finished their road trip going 1-5, having lost four straight with last night's loss at Trenton...It's the longest losing streak of the season for Richmond, which has dropped to a season-low three games under .500.
NORTHERN EXSPOSURE: The Flying Squirrels struggled offensively during their road trip, hitting .199 (39-for-196) as a team on the six-game, seven-day, trip through Altoona and Trenton...The club scored a total of 12 runs (2.0 R/G), five of which came in Richmond's lone win (5-2) 4/15 at Altoona.
PEN OUT OF INK: The Flying Squirrels bullpen allowed nine runs on 15 hits in 9 2/3 innings while walking six batters and striking out nine throughout the course of the three game series at Trenton...The bullpen was also responsible for the losses in the first two games of the series and was charged with blown saves on both occasions...Richmond relievers entered the series with a 1.88 ERA, striking out 26 batters and walking four through the first 10 games.
TOP HEAVY: Justin Christian and Charlie Culberson, batting in the top two spots in the line up, combined for six of Richmond's nine hits last night at Trenton...The two also matched the single-game high for most hits in a contest which was previously done by Culberson on Opening Day...The Flying Squirrels have had just 18 batters record multi-hit games through the first 13 games of the season...Three of the 18 occurred on Opening Day.
NO WALK IN THE PARK: Left-hander Eric Surkamp issued a career-high five walks, including walking three batters in the third inning, in last night's loss at Trenton...Surkamp's previous career-high for most walks in an outing was four, which happened twice and most recently on 8/30/09 at Charleston while he was a member of Low-A Augusta...It was the most walks in a game issued by a Flying Squirrels pitcher and was one short of matching the franchise record set by Clayton Tanner 8/7/10 at Portland.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: The Flying Squirrels matched a season-high for most runs in an inning and set a new season mark for most hits in a frame with their three-run, four-hit outburst in the top of the ninth last night...It was the fifth time that Richmond had scored three runs in an inning and the first since 4/12/10 against Bowie.
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