EL1 Richmond Flying Squirrels

Richmond Flying Squirrels Game Notes

Published on August 2, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Richmond Flying Squirrels News Release


RICHMOND FLYING SQUIRRELS (60-48) VS. NEW HAMPSHIRE FISHER CATS (59-49)

RHP JUSTIN FITZGERALD (8-5, 3.20) VS. RHP DECK MCGUIRE (1-0, 3.86)

August 2, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

The Diamond

Game #109/Home #56

Radio Broadcast -- Sports Radio 910 WRNL

Internet Webcast -- www.sportsradio910.com

TONIGHT: The Richmond Flying Squirrels and New Hampshire Fisher Cats will meet in the opener of a three-game series...Left-hander Clayton Tanner tossed eight scoreless innings and he and right-hander Hector Correa combined on a four-hit shutout of the Trenton Thunder as the Flying Squirrels led wire-to-wire in a 5-0 series clinching win on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,981 fans at Waterfront Park.

TONIGHT'S STARTERS: Right-hander Justin Fitzgerald will get the start in the series-opener for the Flying Squirrels...Making his 21st start of the season and his second against the Fisher Cats...Earned the win in his last outing 7/27 at Erie...Allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits in seven innings...Struck out 11 batters and walked none...Allowed two runs and three hits in the bottom of the fifth inning...Matched a career-high with the 11 strikeouts...Struck out at least one batter in all seven innings on the mound..Has not walked a batter in 13 innings...Allowed the leadoff batter to reach (one on an error) in two of his seven innings on the mound (scored once)...Recorded six groundouts and three flyouts/popouts...Threw 99 pitches, 70 strikes...Threw 15 pitches or less in four of his seven innings on the mound...Threw 24 pitches in the bottom of the fifth inning...Threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 26 batters he faced...Is 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA (12ER/39.1 IP) in his last eight starts since suffering the loss 6/10 at New Hampshire...Has struck out 37 batters and walked 10 while limiting opponents to a .197 (28-for-142) batting average over that span...Named an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star...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.

Right-hander Deck McGuire gets the nod in the series-opener for the Fisher Cats...Making his 20th start overall on the season and his second with the Fisher Cats...Enters the 2011 season rated as the #3 prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system according to Baseball America...Earned the win in his Double-A debut in Game Two of a doubleheader 7/27 at New Britain...Tossed a complete game, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings...Struck out six batters and walked two...Promoted from Advanced-A Dunedin 7/26...Went 7-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 19 games, 18 starts, for the Blue Jays...Struck out 102 batters and walked 38 in 104 2/3 innings...Allowed three runs or less in 15 of his 19 outings...Struck out a career-high 10 batters over five innings 6/8 at Brevard County...Named a Florid State League Mid-Season All-Star...Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (#11 overall) of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft...Attended Georgia Tech...Went 9-4 with a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts with Georgia Tech in 2010, striking out 118 batters and walking 33 in 112 2/3 innings...Went 11-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 16 starts with the Yellow Jackets in 2009, striking out 118 batters and walking 41 in 100 1/3 innings...Named ACC Pitcher of the Year in 2009 becoming the first Georgia Tech pitcher to win the honor...Also named an ACC All-Star and a 2nd Team College All-American...Compiled a 28-7 record over his three seasons with Georgia Tech...Graduated from Deep Run High School in Glen Allen, VA...Named the Player of the Year in the state of Virginia in 2007...Went 10-1 with a 1.35 ERA and struck out 129 batters and also hit .471 with five homers and 31 RBIs in his senior season with the Wildcats...Holds Deep Run records for strikeouts in a game (17), season (129), and career (320) as well as career records in wins (20), ERA (1.96), home runs (14), and RBIs (97)...Also played quarterback and guided the team to a 12-1 record and an appearance in the state playoffs his senior season.

#WINNING: The Flying Squirrels enter tonight's series-opener with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at a season and franchise-best 12 games over .500 at 60-48...The club was the second team behind the Harrisburg Senators to reach 60 wins in the Eastern League... The team has won 12 of its last 15 games entering tonight's contest...With a win tonight and a loss by the Harrisburg Senators, the Flying Squirrels would be in sole possession of first place in the Western Division for the first time this season...The club was tied for first on seven of the first 11 days of the season (4/7-4/17)...Richmond was in first place for three days (5/13/10-5/15/10) last season.

SHUTOUT SQUIRRELS: The Flying Squirrels tossed their seventh shutout of the season in their 5-0 win over the Trenton Thunder Sunday afternoon...It was the club's first shutout since blanking the Erie SeaWolves 8-0 (36 games)...Richmond is tied for fourth in the Eastern League in shutouts, trailing Akron (8), New Hampshire (9) and Harrisburg...The Flying Squirrels four-hit shutout came on the heels of the team allowing a franchise-record 17 runs and enduring its worst defeat in franchise history, 17-5, on Saturday night.

KING OF THE ROAD: First baseman Wes Hodges went 3-for-4 Sunday with a double and a run scored giving him hits in every game on the Flying Squirrels' seven-game road trip...The 26-year-old is batting .400 (34-for-85) in 21 games on the road...All six of his home runs have been hit on the road and 14 of his 23 RBIs have come on the road...He is hitting .229 (61-for-70) with six doubles and a triple in 22 games at The Diamond...Over his last 17 games, Hodges is batting .438 (28-for-64) with five doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, and 10 runs scored.

TRIPLE THREAT: Outfielder Francisco Peguero went 2-for-5 on Sunday afternoon with a pair of triples, a RBI, and a run scored in the Flying Squirrels' 5-0 win over Trenton...The 23-year-old became the first player in the club's two-year history to hit multiple triples in the same game...The triples were the third and fourth of the season for Perguero who now has 38 career triples dating back to his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League in 2006...Last season the #4 rated prospect in the San Francisco Giants farm system according to Baseball America collected a career-best 16 triples with Advanced-A San Jose.

PITCHING IN: The Flying Squirrels pitching staff leads the Eastern League with a 3.32 ERA through 108 games and has allowed a league-low 410 runs...Richmond's pitching staff has allowed two runs or less in 43 of its 108 games (40%)...Starting pitching has allowed three runs or less in 77 of the team's 108 games (71%) and the club is 54-23 in those contests.

HOME AND AWAY: The Flying Squirrels recently completed a stretch where they played 14 of 20 games on the road...The team went 13-7 over that span including an 8-6 mark on the road...Overall, the club is 23-30 on the road, and is batting .224 and averaging 3.58 runs per game (190R/53G) in 53 road contests...The club is 37-18 overall at home - the best home record in the league - and is batting .263 in 55 games at The Diamond while averaging 4.56 runs per game at home (251R/55G).

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Eastern League Stories from August 2, 2011


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