Squirrels’ season starting to slip

It might be too early to say this, but it seems like Richmond is letting their season slip away from them. Richmond is now 3.5 games out of 1st place and 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. There are only about 20 games left. So while they still have time to make something happen, they better do it soon.

August 16, 2011; 3:51 PM • by Matt Sadler

It might be too early to say this, but it seems like Richmond is letting their season slip away from them. Richmond is now 3.5 games out of 1st place and 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. There are only about 20 games left. So while they still have time to make something happen, they better do it soon.

Last week

@Harrisburg Senators

In Game One, Chuck Lofgren kept things close, but ultimately some late walks by the relief staff led to the 5-4 loss. In Game Two, Roger Kieschnick provided some late inning heroics with a two run homer in the 9th and the Squirrels held on to win the game 3-1. Game Three was decided by a couple of home runs against Ryan Verdugo while Richmond wasn’t able to muster much offense.

@Binghamton Mets

Clayton Tanner continued his hot pitching since coming of the DL by pitching five strong innings in the 5-1 victory on Friday. Saturday, it got ugly as Binghamton shut out Richmond 7-0. Sunday wasn’t much better as Chuck Lofgren surrendered three homers in his worst outing as a Squirrel in the 7-3 loss.

This week

vs. Bowie Baysox

Rival Bowie had an up and down week. They spent a good bit of the week in first place after sweeping the Reading Phillies before dropping three out of four to the Erie Sea Wolves. Bowie has infused a new arm into their rotation, Bobby Bundy. Bundy had a successful campaign a Single-A Frederick, where he went 11-5 with a 2.75 ERA. Since coming up, he has been 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Offensively, it has been former Richmond Spider, Joe Mahoney, who has been tearing the cover off the ball. Mahoney is batting .355 over the last 10 games with five runs and five extra base hits.

vs Akron Aeros

The Aeros have flown below the radar this season, yet they are 1.5 back of Richmond and four games back of a playoff spot. That being said, they have been making the most out of little. Offensively, they don’t have a regular starter that is batting over .265 except for their catcher who was recently demoted from Columbus. Starter T.J. McFarland might be the most consistent of the Akron starters. He is 9-6 with a 3.75 ERA.

Squirrels to Watch

• SS Miguel Tejada — The former AL MVP will be in Richmond as part of a rehab stint for the Giants. Tejada has been out since mid July with an abdominal strain.
• P Eric Surkamp — Surkamp had another solid start going 7.2 innings, four hits, one earned run, and 9 strikeouts. Assuming the weather holds up, he should be making two starts this week, one in each series.
• 3B Chris Dominguez — Dominguez had a great week batting .333. Included in his eight hits were four doubles, one triple, and one home run.

At the Diamond

• Tuesday — Nutzy Gnome Giveaway. Keep your garden clean and decorative with a scary looking gnome thingy.
• Wednesday — Irish.Night. The Squirrels will be wearing green. You should be too.
• Thursday — Fireworks
• Friday — Oktoberfest. Don’t expect liters of beer, but it would be nice to see some lederhosen.
• Saturday — Fireworks
• Sunday — Maybe my favorite giveaway of the year: Metal Lunch Box day.

August 16, 2011 3:51 PM 0