EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on May 18, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (17-20) VS. BOWIE BAYSOX (19-19)

LHP RYAN VERDUGO (1-0, 3.03) VS. RHP ZACH CLARK (4-1, 3.05)

May 18, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond

Game #38/Home #22

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Bowie Baysox will meet in game two of a three-game series...Starter Alfredo Simon and relievers Dan Klein and Jose Diaz combined on a five-hit shutout of the Flying Squirrels and the Baysox edged out a 2-0 win in the series opener on Tuesday night in front of 6,198 fans at The Diamond.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Left-hander Ryan Verdugo gets the nod in game two of the series for the Flying Squirrels...Enters the 2011 season rated as the #25 prospect in the San Francisco Giants farm system according to Baseball America...Received a no-decision in his last start 5/11 at Bowie...Allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings...Struck out six batters and walked two...Allowed two runs on three straight two-singles in the bottom of the second inning...Gave up solo home runs to Ronnie Welty and Pedro Florimon in the bottom of the fourth inning...Recorded five flyouts and two groundouts...Retired the leadoff batter in four of his five innings on the mound...Threw 94 pitches, 59 strikes...Threw 38 pitches in the bottom of the second inning...Threw first-pitch strikes to 11 of the 21 batters he faced...Four runs allowed were a career-high...Has failed to go at least five innings in each of his last two starts and has allowed six runs on 11 hits in 8 1/3 innings over his last two outings (6.48 ERA)...Had gone five-plus innings in each of his first four starts allowing four runs on 18 hits in 21 1/3 innings (1.69 ERA)...Three of his first six starts have come against Bowie...Is 1-0 with a 4.30 ERA and has allowed seven runs on 15 hits in 14 2/3 innings against the Baysox...Went a combined 8-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 44 games, including one start, with Low-A Augusta and San Jose...Suffered the lone loss in his pro career 4/29/10 at Hagerstown...Pitched with Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League in 2010...Went 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in seven starts while striking out 26 batters and walking 16...Began the 2009 season in Extended Spring Training...Went 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 23 games with the AZL Giants and Low-A Augusta...Selected in the 9th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft...Attended LSU and Skagit Valley (WA) College.

Right-hander Zach Clark gets the nod in game two of the series for the Baysox...Making his seventh start of the season after moving to the rotation 4/13...Earned his third straight winning decision 5/12 against Akron...Allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits in 8 2/3 innings...Struck out four batters and walked one...Outing was the longest of his career and was the second time this season he has tossed eight-plus innings...Previous career-long was 7 2/3 innings 8/15/08 against Binghamton...Has allowed three runs or less in five of his six starts...Is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA (1R/13 IP) in two starts against Richmond this season, allowing seven hits in 13 innings while striking out eight batters and walking three...Named EL Pitcher of the Week 4/25/11-5/2/11...Has spent parts of each of the last four seasons with Bowie...Went 1-1 with a 3.41 ERA in 14 games, two starts, with the Baysox in 2010...Was 2-7 with a 5.05 ERA (43ER/76.2 IP) in 15 starts in 2010...Appeared in one game against Richmond in 2010 and allowed two unearned runs on two hits in three innings while striking out one, walking one, and hitting one batter...Pitched at four levels in 2010 (Low-A - Triple-A) and went a combined 3-9 with a 4.29 ERA in 30 games including 15 starts...Struck out 74 batters and walked 28 in 115 1/3 innings in 2010...Opponents hit .290 against him...Pitched at four different levels in 2008 and 2009...Made a career-high 32 appearances and 19 starts in 2008 in time spent between Low-A Delmarva, Advanced-A Frederick, Bowie, and Triple-A Norfolk...Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as a non-drafted free agent in May 26, 2006...Attended the University of Maryland at Baltimore County.

TREADING WATER: The Flying Squirrels will try to avoid matching their low-water mark on the season at four games under .500...The club was last four games under .500 at 11-15 after dropping the opener of a doubleheader 5/5 at New Britain.

BOWIE BLANKING: The Flying Squirrels were shutout for the third time this season in last night's 2-0 Baysox win in the series opener...It was the first time Richmond was shutout since being blanked 2-0 by the Altoona Curve on 4/14 (28 games)...The club was shutout twice in the first eight games this season...The Flying Squirrels were shutout 10 times last season, tied for second-most in the Eastern League.

JUSTIN TIME: Outfielder Justin Christian has hits in each of his last five games, the longest hitting streak of the season for the 31-year-old...He is 7-for-21 (.333) over his last five contests with three doubles, three RBIs, and five runs scored...Christian is tied for the team lead in RBIs (17) and also leads the club in runs scored (21) and stolen bases (10)...His .414 (12-for-29) batting average with runners in scoring position is tops on the team, and he has struck out in just 10.4% (14K/134AB) of his at-bats this season, the lowest strikeout per at-bat percentage on the club.

BALLPOINT PEN: The Flying Squirrels bullpen has tossed eight consecutive scoreless innings over the club's last two games...Richmond relievers have allowed just two hits over that span while striking out eight batters and walking three...The longest scoreless innings streak of the season for the club's bullpen is 13 innings (4/25-4/28)...The Flying Squirrels bullpen has posted a 2.59 ERA and has struck out 129 batters while walking 42 in 152 2/3 total innings.

BOOK 'EM DAN-O: Right-hander Dan Otero has tossed 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings over his last eight appearances, matching the longest scoreless streak of the season for a Flying Squirrels pitcher...The 26-year-old has struck out 19 batters and walked none while holding opponents to a .193 (11-for-57) average against over the course of the streak.

PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 2.97 ERA through 37 games and the club ranks third in the league with 309 strikeouts...The pitching staff has logged a league-high 342 2/3 innings of work.

HOME AND AWAY: The Flying Squirrels are in the middle of a stretch where they will play 10 of 13 games at home...Richmond is 13-8 at home and is batting .260 (188-for-722) in 21 games at The Diamond while averaging 4.10 runs per game at home (86R/21G)...Beginning May 27th, the club will start a stretch where it will play 13 of 16 games on the road...The Flying Squirrels are 4-12 on the road, and they are batting .196 (107-for-545) and averaging 3.00 runs per game (48R/16G) in 16 road contests.

Check out the Richmond Flying Squirrels Statistics

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Eastern League Stories from May 18, 2011


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