EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on May 23, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (20-22) VS. ERIE SEAWOLVES (19-21)

LHP RYAN VERDUGO (2-0, 3.12) VS. LHP CASEY CROSBY (1-2, 3.59)

May 23, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond

Game #43/Home #24

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Erie SeaWolves will meet in the opener of a four-game series...Left-hander Clayton Tanner retired the first 20 batters he faced and Justin Christian launched a solo home run to left field in the top of the eighth inning to help lift the Flying Squirrels to a 3-2, series-clinching win over the Reading Phillies on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,617 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Left-hander Ryan Verdugo gets the nod in the series opener for the Flying Squirrels...Enters the 2011 season rated as the #25 prospect in the San Francisco Giants farm system according to Baseball America...Earned the win in his last outing 5/18 against Bowie...Allowed two runs on six hits in five innings...Struck out three batters and walked three...Six hits allowed matched a season and career high...Retired the leadoff batter in four of his five innings on the mound...Lone leadoff batter to reach scored...Recorded six flyouts and five groundouts...Threw 85 pitches, 53 strikes...Threw 50 pitches in the second and third innings combined...Threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 23 batters he faced...Winning decision ended a string of five consecutive no-decisions...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.

Left-hander Casey Crosby gets the nod in the series opener for the SeaWolves...Enters the 2011 season rated as the #6 prospect in the Detroit Tigers farm system according to Baseball America...Received a no-decision in his last outing 5/17 against Trenton...Tossed six scoreless innings, allowing four runs while striking out three batters and walking three...Outing was his third quality start of the season in seven total...Has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his seven outings this season...Is sixth in the Eastern League in walks (21)...Is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in five starts at home, striking out 19 batters and walking 17 in 24 2/3 innings...Is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in starts on the road, striking out 13 batters and walking four in 11 innings...Limited to only three starts in 2010 with the GCL Tigers due to left elbow inflammation...Went 0-1 with a 8.76 ERA and allowed 22 hits in 12 1/3 innings (.382 OBA)...Struck out 10 batters and walked four...Entered the 2010 season rated as the #2 prospect in the Detroit Tigers farm system according to Baseball America...Went 10-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 24 starts with Low-A West Michigan in 2009...Struck out 117 batters and walked 48 in 104 2/3 innings...Limited opponents to a .195 batting average against...Selected as a Midwest League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star...Entered the season as the #4 prospect in the Detroit Tigers farm system according to Baseball America...Made only three starts in 2008 with the GCL Tigers in his pro debut...Allowed one unearned run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out two batters and walking three...Underwent Tommy John Surgery 11/27/07...Entered the 2008 season rated as the #13 prospect in the Detroit Tigers farm system according to Baseball America...Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 5th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

ONE MORE: The Flying Squirrels improved to 5-9 on the season in one-run games with yesterday's 3-2 win over Reading...It was the fourth consecutive one-run game for Richmond (2-2)...Twenty-nine of Richmond's first 42 games this season have been decided by three runs or less and the team is 12-17 in those contests...With the victory, the Flying Squirrels won a road series for the first time this season (1-4-1).

ROGER THAT!: Outfielder Roger Kieschnick went 1-for-4 yesterday and has hits in each of his last five games, his third hit streak of five games or more...Since seeing his average dip to a season-low .173 on 5/7, Kieschnick is hitting .340 (18-for-53) and has hits in 10 of his last 12 contests including multi-hit performances in eight of those games.

THE GEORGIA PEACH: Second baseman Charlie Culberson has hits in each of his last five games, his third hit streak of the season of five games or more...The 22-year-old is batting .375 (9-for-24) with two doubles and four runs scored over his last five contests...Culberson leads the club in batting average (.296) and slugging percentage (.385)...He is tied for second in the Eastern League in at-bats (169) while ranking sixth in hits (50).

MAY IS FOR MATOS: Right-hander Osiris Matos retired the only batter he faced Friday night to record his third hold of the season...In seven appearances this month, the 26-year-old has tossed 13 scoreless innings, limiting opponents to a .140 (6-for-43) batting average against...He has struck out seven batters while walking two over that span and has lowered his ERA from 5.02 to 2.63...Matos has thrown first-pitch strikes to each of the last 10 batters that he has faced.

RAY OF SUNSHINE: Right-hander Ronnie Ray has worked 15 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings spanning his last seven appearances, including working a season-long four innings on Thursday night against Bowie...He was struck out 20 batters and has walked three over that stretch...Opponents are hitting .102 (5-for-49) against him over his last seven outings...Ray has lowered his ERA from 1.93 to 0.99 and opponent batting average against from .304 to .200...Since the All-Star break last season (7/15/10), Ray is 4-1 and has allowed 12 runs, seven earned, (1.17 ERA) in 54 innings spanning his last 35 outings...He has struck out 61 batters over that stretch and has walked 12 while holding opponents to a .184 batting average against (35-for-190).

PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 2.86 ERA through 42 games, one of only two staffs with a sub-three ERA (Trenton 2.96)...The club ranks second in the league with 349 strikeouts, and the pitching staff has logged a league-high 393 2/3 innings of work...The staff has averaged 9.37 innings of work per game, tops in all of MiLB.

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 14-9 at home and is batting .253 (205-for-811) in 23 games at The Diamond while averaging 4.17 runs per game at home (96R/23G)...Beginning May 27th, the club will start a stretch where it will play 13 of 16 games on the road...The Flying Squirrels are 6-13 on the road, and they are batting .198 (127-for-642) and averaging 3.05 runs per game (58R/19G) in 19 road contests.

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Eastern League Stories from May 23, 2011


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