Richmond Flying Squirrels (6-1) Vs. Harrisburg Senators (1-6) RHP Sean Hjelle (0-0, 9.82) Vs
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Richmond Flying Squirrels | 3001 N Arthur Ashe Blvd., Richmond, VA 23230 | 804-359-3866 | SquirrelsBaseball.com | @GoSquirrels Richmond Flying Squirrels (6-1) vs. Harrisburg Senators (1-6) RHP Sean Hjelle (0-0, 9.82) vs. LHP Carson Teel (0-0, 1.80) Wednesday, May 12, 2021 | Game #8 | Road Game #2 6:30 p.m. | FNB Field | Harrisburg, Pa. Radio: Sports Radio 910 The Fan & 105.1 FM | TV: MiLB.TV UPCOMING GAMES & PROBABLE PITCHERS Thurs., May 13 at Harrisburg 6:30 p.m. RHP Matt Frisbee (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Sterling Sharp (0-1, 10.13) Fri., May 14 at Harrisburg 7 p.m. RHP Gerson Garabito (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Luis Reyes (0-1, 1.93) Sat., May 15 at Harrisburg 6 p.m. RHP Tristan Beck (1-1, 4.00) vs. LHP Tim Cate (0-1, 10.13) Sun., May 16 at Harrisburg 1 p.m. LHP Sam Long (0-0, 5.14) vs. RHP Mario Sanchez (0-2, 6.00) YESTERDAY: The Flying Squirrels won their sixth straight game with a 5-3 victory over the Harrisburg Senators at FNB Field. 2021 FLYING SQUIRRELS Jacob Heyward, playing his first game of the season, clubbed a solo homer in his first at-bat of the year in the first inning. The Senators tied the score in the second with an RBI double by Osvaldo Duarte. Heyward put Richmond back ahead for good in the Overall Record ................................... 6-1 third inning with an RBI double and David Villar followed with a two-run single. Harrisburg scored a run in the seventh, but Villar First Half ............................................... 6-1 pushed the lead to 5-2 with a solo home run in the eighth inning. Harrisburg scored its final run in the ninth with a solo home Home ..................................................... 5-1 run by Ian Sagdal. Sam Long started on the mound and allowed one run in 4.0 innings. Ronnie Williams picked up his first win Road ...................................................... 1-0 of the year, working 3.2 innings and allowed one run. Patrick Ruotolo earned his second save on the season. Place (AA-NE Southwest) ......2nd/-0.5 TODAY’S GAME: The Flying Squirrels continue the first road series of 2021, facing off against the Harrisburg Senators, Dou- Streak ................................................... W6 ble-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, at FNB Field on City Island. This series marks the Flying Squirrels’ lone trip to Penn- Last 5 .................................................... 5-0 sylvania’s capital city this season. The Senators come to Richmond for a six-game series from June 8-13. The Flying Squirrels Last 10 ................................................... 6-1 enter the series riding a five-game winning streak. GOING STREAKING: The Flying Squirrels have won six straight games, surpassing the team’s longest winning streak from the HOME ATTENDANCE INFO 2019 season. The last time the team had a six-game winning streak from April 13-18, 2018, which came at The Diamond against 2021 Home Attendance ..................14,715 Reading and Bowie. The Flying Squirrels franchise record for consecutive is seven. The team had seven-game win streaks from Home Openings .................................... 4 April 27-May 3, 2010 and June 20-26, 2014. Average Attendance ...................2,943 STRONG START: The Flying Squirrels’ 6-1 record through the first seven games of the season is the best start in the franchise’s history. The previous best start through seven games was a 4-3 record, which has happened five times, most recently in 2019. The Flying Squirrels’ best start through eight games is 5-3, which was set during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. RICHMOND vs. HARRISBURG 2021 vs. Harrisburg .......................... 1-0 BEST OF THE BEST: At 6-1, the Flying Squirrels are tied for the fourth-best record in all of the minors. Three teams, Lynchburg at Richmond .................................. 0-0 (Low-A East), Down East (Low-A Central) and Akron (Double-A Northeast) are still unbeaten. There are four other teams who currently hold a 6-1 record, including Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A East), Birmingham (Double-A South), Aberdeen (High-A at Harrisburg .................................. 1-0 East) and Tampa (Low-A Southeast). All-Time vs. Harrisburg ................82-87 at Richmond ..............................46-43 THE FLYING SQUIRRELS sit in second place in the Double-A Northeast Southwest Division, a half-game behind unbeaten at Harrisburg .............................36-44 Akron. The Flying Squirrels finished the 2019 season with a 55-84 record, the worst in the franchise’s history, and finished in last place in the Eastern League’s Western Division for the second consecutive year. Seven players from the 2019 team are back in Richmond to start the 2021 season, including Jacob Heyward, Sean Hjelle, Ryan Howard, Peter Maris, Heliot Ramos, ON THE ROAD TRIP Frank Rubio and Raffi Vizcaino. Reliever Patrick Ruotolo did not appear with the Flying Squirrels in 2019, but he did pitch in Richmond in 2018. OutfielderVince Fernandez played in the Eastern League with Hartford in 2019. Games ....................................................... 1 Record ................................................... 1-0 THE SENATORS have lost four consecutive games entering play tonight by a combined score of 23-10. The Harrisburg roster includes 10 players who appeared in a game for the team prior to this season. There are six of Baseball America’s top-30 Na- tionals prospects on the Senators’ roster, including LHP Tim Cate (8), INF Drew Mendoza (11), INF Jackson Cluff (12), C Jakson Batters Reetz (25), OF Nick Banks (29) and RHP Sterling Sharpe (29). In 2019, the Senators went 76-63, finishing in second place in the Batting Average .................. .235 (8/34) Eastern League Western Division, before falling to the Bowie Baysox in the divisional round of the playoffs. RISP ........................................... .667 (2/3) Runs/Runs Per Game ....................5/5.0 FOR RICHMOND: Right-hander Sean Hjelle makes his second start of the 2021 season. In his season debut last Thursday, Home Runs ............................................. 2 Hjelle allowed six runs (four earned) over 3.2 innings against Hartford in a no-decision. In 2019, Hjelle climbed three levels in the Giants’ system. He began the year with Single-A Augusta for nine starts, made 14 starts with A-Adv. San Jose and joined the Flying Squirrels for five starts at the end of the year. Hjelle finished the year ranked fourth in the Giants organization in strikeouts Pitchers (139) and fifth in ERA (3.32). He enters the 2021 season rated by Baseball America as the Giants’ No. 13 prospect. Hjelle was ERA ..............................3.06 (3 ER/9.0 IP) drafted in the second round in 2018 out of the University of Kentucky. For more on Hjelle, see page two. Starter W/L .......................................... 0-0 FOR HARRISBURG: Left-hander Carson Teel makes his second start of the 2021 season. In his season debut last Thursday Starter ERA .................2.25 (1 ER/4.0 IP) against Somerset, Teel worked 5.0 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) with two walks and three strikeouts in a no-de- Reliever W/L ......................................... 1-0 cision. He was drafted by the Nationals in the 16th round out of Oklahoma State in 2018. He pitched his first full professional Reliever ERA ..............3.60 (2 ER/5.0 IP) season in 2019, splitting time between Single-A Hagerstown and A-Adv. Potomac, combining for 28 appearances (16 starts). Saves/Opps ...........................................1/1 Overall, he went 8-4 with a 3.03 ERA on the year. PLAY THE HITS: The Flying Squirrels are batting .295 as a team, which is first in the Double-A Northeast. The team is also sec- THIS DATE IN HISTORY ond in hits (66), second in total bases (103), third in RBIs (36), third in OBP (.351), second in SLG (.460) and second in OPS (.811). In 2011, the Flying Squirrels beat the Harrisburg Senators, 6-3, in 11 in- RIGHT OFF THE BAT: 2019 Eastern League All-Star Jacob Heyward made his season debut on Tuesday night at Harrisburg. In his first plate appearance of the season in the first inning, he launched a solo home run. He added an RBI double that hit the nings at The Diamond. Johnny Monell left-field wall on the fly in his second plate appearance. In 2019, Heyward set the Flying Squirrels’ single-season record for walks clubbed a three-run, walk-off home with 80, which surpassed the previous record of 62 set by Mark Minicozzi during the 2013 season. run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Juan Perez had three hits in the game. RAMOS RAKING: Heliot Ramos homered in back-to-back games for the fifth time in his career with blasts last Wednesday and Thursday. He has now collected five home runs at the Double-A level and 35 during his career in the minors. Ramos is currently In 2012, the Flying Squirrels shut out ranked tied for second in the Double-A Northeast in batting average (.429), tied for fourth in OBP (.520), fourth in SLG (.857), the Bowie Baysox, 2-0, in a combined third in OPS (1.377), tied for second in hits (9), tied for third in extra-base hits (5), tied for third in total bases (18) and first in runs effort from pitchers Mike Kickham, scored (8). Tom Vessella, Austin Fleet and Brett POWER SURGE: David Villar has homered three times in the first seven games of the 2021 season, which is tied for third in the Bochy. Monell hit two solo homers. league. He has homered in each of his last two games and three of the last six. He hit 13 home runs in 2018 in short-season with Salem-Keizer and clubbed 13 home runs again in 2019 with A-Adv.