The Flying Squirrles are in 3rd place!

The Richmond Flying Squirrels entered the week after winning three straight series. During that time, they went 6-3 and climbed the standings in the Western Division. The winning trend continued against the Mets, but it was the blasted Bowie Baysox who stopped Richmond from making it fives series in a row. Richmond currently sits in 3rd place, 5.0 games behind Harrisburg, and sporting a 34-34 record.

June 21, 2011; 4:15 PM • by Matt Sadler

The Richmond Flying Squirrels entered the week after winning three straight series. During that time, they went 6-3 and climbed the standings in the Western Division. The winning trend continued against the Mets, but it was the blasted Bowie Baysox who stopped Richmond from making it fives series in a row. Richmond currently sits in 3rd place, 5.0 games behind Harrisburg, and sporting a 34-34 record.

Last week

vs. Binghamton Mets

Ryan Verdugo was not his normal self on Tuesday. The Mets pounded him for 6 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings on the way to a 6-4 victory. Game Two was all about Henry Sosa keeping the Mets at bay in five scoreless innings. The bullpen ended up letting it get closer than it should have, but ultimately the Flying Squirrels managed to hang on to a 5-3 win. The series finale was an offensive explosion for Richmond as Roger Kieschnick and Justin Christian each had three-run home runs in a 11-9 slugfest.

vs. Bowie Baysox

On Friday, it looked like Richmond might exercise their demons against the Baysox when they jumped all over Bowie starter Chorye Spoone and held on to a 6-4 victory. Saturday, it was back to the same old, same old, as Bowie held the Richmond bats at bay. Clayton Tanner pitched well before giving up a two-run homer to Bowie catcher, Caleb Joseph. A series victory looked probably as Ryan Verdugo, who has dominated Bowie several times this season, took the mound against a team who just lost their #1 starter to a promotion. However, Verdugo didn’t have his stuff for the 2nd straight start and left in the 3rd inning after loading the bases on walks and already losing 4-0. The Baysox went on to score eight more runs and take the game 12-4.

Next week

@Harrisburg Senators

Richmond heads up to Pennsylvania to visit the Eastern Division leading Senators. Currently, Richmond leads the season series 2-1. The Senators boast a few strong players including OF Bill Rhinehart and 1B Tyler Moore who both lead the team with 12 HRs a piece. While the Squirrels will miss the Senators ace, Bill Peacock, they will still have to face former major leaguer Shairon Martis, who is 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA. This series is important for the Squirrels as they hope to gain some ground on division leaders.

vs. Erie SeaWolves

Erie strolls into town on Friday. At this moment, they have matched the Squirrels record of 34-34 and sit with them at 3rd place in the Western Division. The last time these teams met in May, Richmond was able to take two out of three from the SeaWolves. It was Richmond’s pitching in Game Two and hitting in Game Three that made the difference. Still, this Erie team will provide some interesting challenges for the Richmond pitching staff: they have four players that are currently batting over .300, and the team as a whole is batting a collective 44 points higher than the Flying Squirrels offense.

Squirrels to watch

• Eric Surkamp — The Richmond starter has been on the shelf for the past few weeks. The problem has been with his movement, but his arm has remained strong and he has shown signs of improvement. Look for him to return to the rotation this week.
• Wes Hodges — The new first basemen came to Richmond from AAA Columbus last week. He had a quiet first week, but he was able to a collect a triple in Sunday’s game. Look for him to make an impact in the lineup as he get more familiar to his new surroundings.

At the Diamond

This is a crazy weekend at the Diamond. With multiple things going on each day.

On Friday night, Josh Harris from the TV show, The Deadlieast Catch, will be visiting the Diamond. There will also be a post game event as parents and children can camp on the field and watch the movie Sandlot. You’re killing me Smalls!!!!!

On Saturday night, it is Military Appreciation Night and the first 2,500 fans (21 & older) will be given a cool military style cap.

On Sunday, parents and kids can play catch on the field. Their will also be a rally pig being given away–because you know, we all need a rally pig.

June 21, 2011 4:15 PM 0