Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes
June 30, 2011 - Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release
RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (40-36) VS. READING PHILLIES (39-39)
LHP ERIC SURKAMP (5-3, 1.74) VS. RHP JOE ESPOSITO (0-0, 0.00)
June 30, 2011 -- 7:05 PM
FirstEnergy Stadium
Game #77/Road #29
Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL
Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com
TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Reading Phillies will meet in the opener of a three-game series...Harrisburg right-hander Brad Peacock limited the Flying Squirrels to just one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the Senators earned a two-game series split with a 3-2 win in the completion of Tuesday night's suspended game on Wednesday night in front of 8,669 fans at The Diamond.
TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Left-hander Eric Surkamp gets the start in the series opener for the Flying Squirrels...Making his 14th start of the season...Enters the 2011 season rated as the #9 prospect in the San Francisco Giants farm system according to Baseball America...Earned the win in his last outing 6/24 against Erie...Allowed three hits over six scoreless innings...Struck out seven batters and walked one...Outing was his first since going on the DL 6/14...Has combined on three of Richmond's six shutouts...Seven strikeouts were his most since striking out 10 batters 5/7 against Altoona...Retired the leadoff batter in all six of his innings on the mound...Recorded six flyouts/popouts and four groundouts...Threw 75 pitches, 52 strikes...Threw 12 pitches or less in four of his six innings on the mound...Threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 batters he faced...Outing was his eighth quality start in 12 total, tying Clayton Tanner for the team lead...Leads the Eastern League with a 1.74 ERA and is fourth in the EL with 87 strikeouts...Suffered the loss in his lone start against Reading 6/3...Allowed a season-high five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings...Activated from the Disabled List 6/24...Placed on the DL (left knee) 6/14 retroactive to 6/10...Named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week 5/2/11-5/8/11...Made 17 starts with Advanced-A San Jose in 2010 going 4-2 with a 3.11 ERA...Struck out 108 batters and walked 22 in 101 1/3 innings...Had season cut short after injuring his hip attempting to field a ground ball 7/18/10 against Lancaster...Named a California League Mid-Season and Post Season All-Star...Spent all of 2009 with Low-A Augusta and went 11-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 23 starts...Struck out 169 batters and walked 39 in 131 innings, third-most strikeouts in all of MiLB...Selected in the 6th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft...Attended North Carolina State University.
Right-hander Joe Esposito gets the nod in the series-opener for the R-Phils...Making his second start with Reading and his fourth start overall...Received a no-decision in his Double-A debut 6/25 at Akron...Allowed three hits over five scoreless innings...Struck out five batters and walked one...Promoted from Advanced-A Clearwater 6/25...Went 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 21 appearances, including two starts, while striking out 38 batters and walking 24...Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as a minor league free agent 7/14/10...Began the season 7/16 with Low-A Lakewood...Appeared in nine games in relief with the Blue Claws and went 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA, striking out 18 batters and walking five in 14 1/3 innings...Promoted to Advanced-A Clearwater 8/11...Went 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA in five starts with the Threshers, striking out 32 batters and walking 15 in 28 2/3 innings...Limited opponents to a .184 (19-for-103) batting average...Split the 2009 season between Low-A Delmarva and Advanced-A Frederick in the Baltimore Orioles farm system...Began the season with Delmarva and went 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA (4ER/33.1 IP) in 18 relief appearances...Struck out 52 batters and walked 14 in 33 1/3 innings...Promoted to Frederick 6/22/09...Went 1-2 with a 4.46 ERA in 20 relief appearances...Struck out 41 batters and walked 22 in 40 1/3 innings...Appeared in 24 games, all in relief, in 2008 with Short-Season A Aberdeen and Low-A Delmarva...Went a combined 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA, striking out 57 batters and walking 18 in 43 1/3 innings...Made pro debut in 2007 and pitched at three levels (Rookie, Short-Season A, Low-A) going a combined 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 25 games, all in relief...Struck out 58 batters and walked 23 in 55 2/3 innings...Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Baltimore Orioles 6/13/07...Attended New York Institute of Technology.
JUNE BOON: The Flying Squirrels are 16-9 entering the final game in June...It is the first winning month of the season for the club and the winningest month in the two-year history of the franchise...Last season, Richmond's best months were April (12-9) and July (16-13) when the team was three-games over .500...The Flying Squirrels' .243 batting average this month is their highest through the first three months of the season; however, it is still the lowest of any of the Eastern League clubs...Richmond has posted a 3.19 ERA for the month, the highest of any of the first three months this season, but it is the lowest in the Eastern League.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER: Flying Squirrels third baseman Chris Dominguez has hits in each of his last eight contests and is 14-for-32 (.438) over that stretch with eight doubles, a triple, two home runs (including a grand slam), 15 RBIs, and six runs scored...The 24-year-old's longest hitting streak of the season is 13 games, He was named the Eastern League Offensive Player of the Week 5/20-5/26 becoming the first Flying Squirrels' position player ever to win a weekly award...Overall, Dominguez is 15-for-46 (.326) at the plate over his first 12 games with Richmond and 12 of his 15 hits have gone for extra bases including nine doubles, a triple, and two home runs.
THE JOLLY ROGER: Outfielder Roger Kieschnick has hits in eight straight games, matching his longest hitting streak this season...The 24-year-old is batting .355 (11-for-31) over his last eight contests with two home runs, eight RBIs, and six runs scored...Over his last 45 games, Kieschnick is batting .318 (54-for-170) over his last 45 games with six doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 33 RBIs and 27 runs scored...The 24-year-old has 19 multi-hit games over that span...He was hitting .173 on 5/7 and was 18-for-104 with six doubles, one homer and eight RBIs in his first 29 games.
SAN FRANCISCO: Outfielder Francisco Peguero has hits in each of his last five games, going 8-for-20 (.400) with a triple, two RBIs, and five runs scored...The 23-year-old had a 25-game regular season hitting streak with Advanced-A San Jose that went from 8/18/10-6/7/11.
PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 2.94 ERA through 76 games and has allowed a league-low 265 runs...Richmond's pitching staff has allowed two runs or less in 29 of its 76 games (38%)...The club's 2.94 ERA is also the lowest of all of the full-season MiLB teams.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Flying Squirrels have begun a stretch where they will play 20 out of 27 games at home including a doubleheader against Harrisburg 7/9...The club is 26-15 at home and is batting .254 in 41 games at The Diamond while averaging 4.66 runs per game at home (191R/41G)...Overall, the club is 14-21 on the road, and is batting .204 and averaging 3.23 runs per game (113R/35G) in 35 road contests.
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