Squirrels sweep the Baysox, get ready to whomp on some Altoona Curve

On a roll after sweeping consecutive series with the New Britain Rock Cats and the Bowie Baysox, the Flying Squirrels welcome the division-leading Altoona Curve to the Diamond for four games.

May 3, 2010; 7:30 AM • by John Murden

On a roll after sweeping consecutive series with the New Britain Rock Cats and the Bowie Baysox, the Flying Squirrels welcome the division-leading Altoona Curve to the Diamond for four games.

The Flying Squirrels (14-9) pushed their way into 2nd place in the Western Division on Friday night with a 2-0 victory over the sliding Bowie Baysox (12-12). Starter Mike MacDonald allowed only 2 hits over 7 shutout innings in the series opener for the win, Ronnie Ray kept the 8th inning quiet, and Rafael Cova earned his seventh save of the season in the 9th inning.

The Squirrels led the entire way in Saturday’s game and dropped the Baysox 6-4, guaranteeing 2nd place when Altoona rolls into town. A 4-1 pickup on Sunday in front of an exuberant day-game crowd gave the Squirrels their 2nd series sweep in a row and the 3rd series sweep of the season.

The Western Division-leading Altoona Curve (16-6) come to Richmond for a 4-game series having scuffed up what was likely pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg’s last game with the Harrisburg Senators (10-13). The Curve have won all three of the previous games between the 2 clubs this season, but face a different Flying Squirrels team than opened the season. With 13 wins in their last 16 games and a 6-game winning streak, the Flying Squirrels have come a long way since beginning April by losing 6 out of 7 games. Altoona puts their 1st place standing and their own 5-game winning streak on the line against the Eastern League’s hottest team.

Richmond’s recent success has been built on strong pitching and solid defense. The Flying Squirrels are next-to-last in Eastern League with 67 runs batted in, have held their opponents to a league-leading 55 runs – 19 fewer than the next up Altoona Curve. Going into last night’s game the Flying Squirrels’ pitching staff led the league with a 2.37ERA.

Anyone that has come out to a game (and there are many of you) will appreciate this: Richmond continues to lead the league in attendance. Averaging over 6,600 paid per game certainly plays into the home environment that has helped the Squirrels off to a 9-1 start at the Diamond.

Monday May 3 – 7:05PM (HOME)
Richmond Flying Squirrels vs. Altoona Curve
Mixon (2-1, 2.66) VS Alderson (2-0, 5.49)

Tuesday May 4 – 7:05PM (HOME)
Richmond Flying Squirrels vs. Altoona Curve
Clark (1-1, 3.20) VS Owens (2-0, 3.57)
KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets: buy 1 ticket, get 1 free from KRAFT Singles with purchase. Bring your package wrapper to a Flying Squirrels Game on Tuesdays for a steal of a deal.

Wednesday May 5 – 7:05PM (HOME)
Richmond Flying Squirrels vs. Altoona Curve
MacDonald (1-2, 2.54) VS Hughes (4-1, 4.44)
The first 2,000 fans 15 and older will receive a BBQ mitt presented by Bill’s Barbecue.

Thursday May 6 – 10:35AM (HOME)
Richmond Flying Squirrels vs. Altoona Curve
Tanner (2-2, 2.16) VS TBA