Richmond’s Matt Gage tossed six quality innings on Tuesday in a Flying Squirrels 2-0 defeat at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
Richmond (9-13) was shutout for the third time this season despite out-hitting the Curve 8-6. Altoona (14-9) was able to secure three double plays to limit Richmond and snap the Squirrels mini two-game win streak. Richmond and Altoona will play the final game of the series on Wednesday morning at10:30 a.m., before the Squirrels return home to begin an action-packed homestand on Thursday.
Altoona’s J.T. Brubaker navigated his way through 6 2/3 innings to earn the win. Brubaker (2-2) tip toed around six hits and used the three double plays to keep Richmond off the board. Brubaker worked around a pair of Richmond singles in the first inning and managed to retired the next eight batters into the fourth. The righty used 43 pitches over the first three innings and 103 overall.
Gage was also sharp for the Squirrels, generating plenty of soft contact in his fourth start of the season. . After allowing ten hits in his previous start (all singles), Pablo Reyes greeted Gage with a soft base hit to center field to begin the bottom of the first. Gage then induced a double play ball off the bat of Kevin Newman and needed just 12 pitches to get the first three outs.
The Curve grabbed a 1-0 lead off of Gage with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Squirrels nemesis Edwin Espinal doubled to left center field to begin the inning. The Curve then used a pair of soft ground ball outs to plate Espinal for the early advantage.
Altoona added one more in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Kevin Newman worked a walk, extending the inning for Jordan Luplow. Luplow then lofted a double into the left field corner to plate Newman all the way from first base. Gage retired the next hitter Edwin Espinal to limit the damage to the one run. Gage utilized 44 pitches over the first three innings.
Brubaker continued to do enough to keep the Squirrels off the board. Eliezer Zambrano opened the fifth inning with a single and was promptly erased on the bases due to a ground ball double play. Brubaker also received a few solid defensive plays behind him, including a leaping grab by first baseman Edwin Espinal in the sixth. Brubaker carried the game into the seventh and utilized his third double play of the game to keep Richmond quiet. With two outs in the seventh, Hunter Cole singled to force Brubaker from the game. Virginia Tech product Sean Keselica then entered and finished off theinning to close the line on Brubaker. Cole’s single extend his hitting streak to 10 game.
Gage (0-2) lasted through six innings and turned in a quality start despite the loss. The lefty struck out Chris with the bases loaded in the sixth to end his outing. He worked six full innings and allowed the two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Gage tossed 85 pitches in the start.
Keselica made quick work of the Squirrels in the eighth inning and Montana DuRapau pitched the ninth to earn the save. The Squirrels bullpen was also effective as Jose Flores and Tyler Cyr executed scoreless outings.
The Squirrels will conclude their road trip on Wednesday morning in Altoona, PA. Right-hander Jordan Johnson (1-1, 2.25) will make the start for Richmond against the Curve’s RHP Tanner Anderson (1-1, 2.00). The game can be heard on Fox Sports 910 AM and on the iHeart Media app starting at10 a.m. for the pre game warm up. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The Squirrels will return to The Diamond on Thursday, May 4 for Star Wars Night and In-Your-Face-Fireworks presented by Steak ’ ‘ Shake. Season tickets, mini plans and group outings are available by contacting the Flying Squirrels box office at 804-359-3866 or online at www.squirrelsbaseball.com
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