Great week has Richmond climbing the standings

Last week, the Flying Squirrels were sitting in 3rd place in the Western Division. Five wins over the last six games only helped them move up one game but they did knock Bowie out of 2nd place.

June 27, 2011; 2:23 PM • by Matt Sadler

Last week, the Flying Squirrels were sitting in 3rd place in the Western Division. Five wins over the last six games only helped them move up one game but they did knock Bowie out of 2nd place. The bats are starting to heat up for Richmond while the strong pitching has continued. If the Squirrels can continue this success they may be knocking on 1st place sooner than later.

@ Harrisburg Senators

Richmond went to Harrisburg trailing the Senators by five games in the Western Division and they left Harrisburg taking two out of three from the Senators and cutting that deficit to four games. Richmond is a team that struggles on the road so anytime they win a series away from The Diamond it can be considered a success. In Game One, the Flying Squirrels used home runs from Roger Kieschnick and Johnny Monnell to power past Harrisburg 4-2. In Game Two, it was the masterful work of Justin Fitzgerald who went eight innings in the win. In the series finale, the long ball plagued Daryl Maday as the Squirrels fell in the rain shortened game.

vs Erie SeaWolves

Erie came to The Diamond on a bit of a hot streak. They had just taken three out of four from Reading Phillies, but whatever momentum they did have, quickly disappeared. On Friday, Richmond enjoyed the return of Eric Surkamp from the DL as he went 6 scoreless innings and won in a 8-0 rout. In Game Two Clayton Tanner put in a strong start giving up two runs (one earned) and Charlie Culberson provided some pop as Richmond won 6-2. The finale saw Ryan Verdugo regain his form in a 10-1 demolishing of Erie, giving the Squirrels a great ending to an amazing week.

This week

vs Harrisburg Senators

The Flying Squirrels have the ability to make some more progress as Harrisburg is coming to town for a three game set. This time, however, the pitching match-ups favor the Senators as they will send two of their stronger pitchers in Erik Davis and Brad Peacock. Davis is 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA while Peacock is 8-2 with a 114 ks and a 2.28 ERA. Meanwhile, Surkamp and Verdugo will not take the hill until the following series.

@Reading Phillies

Richmond will then leave after the game on Wednesday for a 4 game set at Reading. Reading has been in a downward spiral since early May when it looked as if they would dominate the league. They have lost their heavy hitter Cody Overbeck to a promotion, but they still lead the league in batting average and are 2nd in the league in runs. What has seemed to fail the R-Phils is their starting pitching. They have one regular starter with an ERA under four. Despite being awful on the road, Richmond has a good opportunity to have success against this team over the weekend.

Squirrels to watch

• Chris Dominguez — The Squirrels’ 3rd Baseman was recently name the Eastern League Player of the Week. Over the past six games, Dominguez hit .458 (11-24), with a home run, seven doubles, a triple, and eight RBIs. He is a recent call-up (June 16), and he looks to make a similar impact as he did by helping San Jose win the 1st half title.
• Hector Correa — Correa also made the trip to Richmond from Single A San Jose recently. Coming out of the bullpen Correa has pitched six scoreless innings with a total of three hits and seven K’s. At San Jose, Correa had a strong 3-1 record with a 1.93 ERA.

At the Diamond

• Monday — There is a tribute to racing as well as a die cast car giveaway. I hope to see a number of Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin shirts out there in the stands.
• Tuesday — This is Tribute to the Peanut night. I don’t get it, but maybe someone will be giving away something.
• Wednesday — Fireworks. We all love fireworks.

The Squirrels will return on Monday, July 4, for a 9 game home stand.

June 27, 2011 2:23 PM 0