Richmond Flying Squirrels (SFG) (21-19) vs. Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) (22-20) GM #1 RHP Cory Taylor (5-1, 4.54 ERA) vs RHP Nabil Crismatt (5-1, 2.80 ERA) GM #2 Shaun Anderson (4-2, 2.86 ERA) vs RHP Marcos Molina (1-3, 5.97 ERA) Wednesday, May 23rd- 5:35 P.M. NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton, NY Game # 41+42 : (21-19) Away Game #18+19 : (9-8) Radio: Fox Sports 910 (6:05 P.M.) Internet: FoxSportsRichmond.com UPCOMING GAMES AND PROBABLE STARTERS Thursday, May 24th vs Binghamton: RHP Jordan Johnson (5-3, 2.96 ERA) vs RHP Scott Copeland (2-0, 2.93 ERA) First Pitch 10:35 A.M. Friday, May 25th vs Akron RubberDucks: LHP Garrett Williams (1-3, 5.17 ERA) vs LHP Matt Lighthouse (2-1, 2.01 ERA) First Pitch 6:35 P.M. Saturday, May 26th vs Akron RubberDucks: RHP Chase Johnson (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs TBD First Pitch 6:35 P.M. Squirrels Drop Series to Harrisburg: + Prior to the rainout last night in Binghamton, The Flying Squirrels lost the abbreviated three-game series to Harrisburg with an 8-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at The Diamond. Richmond and Harrisburg were rained out back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday 2018 SQUIRRELS AT A GLANCE forcing a doubleheader on Saturday which the teams split with the Squirrels taking game one and losing game two. In the loss on Sunday, Jerry Sands hit his sixth home run of the season which places him in the lead on the team. Richmond opens up a three-game Regular Season Record ........................21-19 series against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies tonight in Binghamton, New York. vs. Western Division ...............................8-12 vs. Eastern Division .................................13-7 Who Scores First?: Home .......................................................12-11 + The first run of the game has proved to be cruicial for the Flying Squirrels this season. The Squirrels have a record of 17-4 when Road .............................................................9-8 they score first in games. When opponents score first against the Squirrels, Richmond has a 4-15 record. Equally important for the Squirrels is maintaining the lead once captured. Richmond’s pitching staff has completed 13 of their 15 save opportunities this season Place EL Western...................................T-2nd led by Caleb Simpson who is 7-for-9 in saves this season. Games Behind .............................................2.5 Luigi the Kid: Last 15 .........................................................7-8 + Squirrels outfielder Luigi Rodriguez has not only been the hottest hitter on the team but he is the hottest hitter in the entire East- Last 10 .........................................................5-5 ern League. Rodriguez is tied with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for first place in the Eastern League with a .421 batting average. Rodriguez Last 5............................................................2-3 is batting .643 (9-for-14) over the last five games and he’s 14 for his last 30 at bats (.467). Along with his offensive prowess, Luigi has also stolen eight bases this season which places him second on the team. His three home runs on the year ties him for fourth on the 2018 Home Attendance.................. 126,931 team. Home Dates .................................................68 Nightly Average Attendance ...............5,770 Road Weary: Eastern League Rank .................................1st + The Squirrels have played better at home to start off the 2018 season, and it shows. The Squirrels are batting .247 as a team at The Diamond but just a .226 average on the road. The Squirrels do have a 9-8 record on the road however pitchers have also struggled to win games away from Richmond, VA. The Squirrels staff has pitched to a 3.18 ERA at home but on the road, the staff has struggled to SQUIRRELS MAY SCHEDULE (7-10) pitch to a 3.68 ERA. Unfortunatley for the Squirrels, seven of their last 10 games in the month of May are away from The Diamond. 5/1 vs ALT L (2-8) 5/2 vs ALT L (2-3) New Captain and First Mate’s: 5/3 OFF DAY + Willie Harris represents the seventh manager to guide the Richmond Flying Squirrels at The Diamond. Joining Willie will be first- 5/4 @REA L (6-7) time hitting coach Francisco Morales and first-time pitching coach Glenn Dishman. Willie Harris was a 12-year veteran in the big 5/5 @REA W (8-4) leagues spending seasons with the Orioles, White Sox, Red Sox, Braves, Nationals, Mets, and Reds. Harris was a member of the 2005 5/6 @REA W (4-2) World Series Chicago White Sox. Also joining Willie’s staff this season will be fundamentals coach Gary Davenport who has been a 5/7 vs AKR L (3-6) 5/8 vs AKR L (5-6) member of the Giants minor league systems for 15 years. 5/9 vs AKR W (1-0) 5/10 vs TRN W (3-1) Fact’s and Stats: 5/11 vs TRN W (6-1) + Prior to this season’s 14-9 record in April, the last time the Squirrels finished with a winning record in the month of April was in 5/12 vs TRN L (4-6) the 2014 season (14-10 record) 5/13 vs TRN L (2-3) + The Flying Squirrels have sold out nine straight opening nights at The Diamond including 2018’s franchise record 9,845 fans 5/14 @ALT W (7-3) + The Flying Squirrels rank fourth in the Eastern League with 34 home runs. 5/15 @ALT L (1-5) 5/16 @ALT PPD + The Squirrels pitching staff has a combined 3.36 ERA which ranks fourth in the Eastern League. 5/17 vs HBG PPD 5/18 vs HBG PPD Today’s Starters: Richmond’s Cory Taylor and Shaun Anderson: 5/19 GM 1 vs HBG W (8-6) + Right-hander Cory Taylor will make his ninth start of the season and his first against Binghamton tonight. Taylor enters the contest 5/19 GM 2 vs HBG L (1-2) with a 5-1 record and a 4.54 ERA. Taylor’s last start came on 5/14 against Altoona where he tossed 5.1 innings allowing six hits and 5/20 vs HBG L (2-8) two earned runs earning the win. Taylor won four games all of last season with the Squirrels and has already passed that with his five 5/21 OFF DAY wins in 2018. Taylor was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the 2015 MLB June draft out of Dallas Baptist 5/22 @BNG PPD 5/23 GM 1 @BNG University. Right-hander Shaun Anderson will make his ninth start of the season in game two of the doubleheader tonight. Anderson 5/23 GM 2 @BNG enters the contest with a 4-2 record and a 2.86 ERA. Anderson’s last start came on May 15th against Altoona where he allowed four 5/24 @BNG earned runs in five innings earning the loss. Anderson was acquired by the San Francisco Giants in a trade with the Red Sox that sent 5/25 @BNG Eduardo Nunez to Boston in return for Anderson. The righty was originally drafted by the Red Sox in the 3rd round of the 2016 MLB 5/26 @AKR June draft out of The University of Florida. 5/27 @AKR 5/28 @AKR 5/29 vs BOW Binghamton’s Nabil Crismatt and Marcos Molina: 5/30 vs BOW Right-hander Nabil Crismatt will make his ninth start of the season and his first against Richmond tonight. Crismatt enters the + 5/31 vs BOW contest with a 5-1 record and a 2.80 ERA. The right-hander’s last start came 5/17 against New Hampshire where he tossed 6.0 in- nings allowing just three hits and one earned run while striking out seven. Crismatt has struck out 44 batters in 45.0 innings so far this season while walking just 13. Crismatt was signed as a free agent by the New York Mets on May 31st, 2012. Right-hander Marcos Molina will make his ninth start of the season in game two of the doubleheader. Molina enters the contest with a 1-4 record and a RECENT TRANSACTIONS 6.69 ERA. Molina has struggled with command walking 20 batters in 40.1 innings while striking out 30. Molina was signed as a free + Carlos Diaz placed on the Richmond DL (Elbow agent on May 31st, 2012. Strain) + Pat Ruotolo transferred from Sacramento (AAA) to Richmond (AA) Down on the Farm: + Connor Overton transferred from Sacramento + Sacramento (AAA)- Lost to Las Vegas, 10-7. Former Flying Squirrel Ray Black tossed a scoreless inning of relief and Ryder Jones (AAA) to Richmond (AA) hit his third HR of the season + Ryan Halstead transferred from Richmond + San Jose- Lost to Modesto, 12-1. Modesto was 8-for-12 with RISP (AA) to Sacramento (AAA) + Augusta- PPD FOR UP-TO-DATE PLAYER AND TEAM NEWS, STATS, AND OTHER INFORMATION VISIT SQUIRRELSBASEBALL.COM TODAY’S FLYING SQUIRRELS STARTER 2 # 38 RHP Cory Taylor HT: 6-2 WT: 255 BATS/THROWS: R/R PRO EXPERIENCE: 4th Season AGE: 23 BORN: December 14, 1993 in Broken Arrow, OK RESIDENCE: Dallas, Texas ACQUIRED: Selected by the Giants in the 8th Rd of the 2015 Draft out of Dallas Baptist Univ. 2018 SEASON STATISTICS CLUB W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG RIC 5-1 4.54 8 8 0 0 0 37.2 39 19 19 7 18 22 .258 ***Eastern League Pitcher of the Week: July 24-30, 2017*** 2018 Squirrels Game Log 2017 HIGHLIGHTS: DATE OPP DEC IP H R ER BB SO RESULT 4/5 @ TRN ND 4.2 5 2 2 2 5 L (2-5) + Taylor tossed a complete game shutout against Erie on Saturday, July 29th and came 4/10 @ HFD W 5.0 3 2 2 1 3 W (8-6) within two outs of throwing a no-hitter.