Richmond knocks off Binghamton to pick up third consecutive win

Gio Brusa homered for the third straight game and Alfred Gutierrez tied a season high with seven strikeouts to help the Richmond Flying Squirrels defeat the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, 4-2, on Saturday at NYSEG Stadium.

Richmond (26-45, 3-1) has won three straight games for the first time since June 5-7 and won a series for the first time since taking two of three in Portland from June 4-6.

The Flying Squirrels jumped in front in the first inning against Binghamton (36-31, 2-2) starter Andrew Church (Loss, 0-1) when Brusa crushed a two-run homer to right. It was the seventh home run of the season for Brusa, tying him for the team lead.

Richmond doubled its lead in the sixth with another extra-base hit from Brusa. With Jonah Arenado at first with nobody out, Brusa launched an RBI double to deep left-center field. He later scored on an RBI single from Will Maddox, who went 3-for-5.

Brusa finished the game 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs to extend his hitting streak to eight games, the longest hitting streak of the season for a member of the Flying Squirrels. Over his last eight games, Brusa is batting .370 (10-for-27) with four doubles, four home runs, nine RBIs and eight runs scored.

Gutierrez (Win, 4-3) tied a season high with seven strikeouts through five shutout innings before allowing a two-run homer to Patrick Mazieka in the sixth. Gutierrez was lifted after 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk. He has completed at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs in five of his last six starts. It was the third time this season and second consecutive start that Gutierrez has fanned seven.

Frank Rubio, Sam Moll, Dillon McNamara, Carlos Navas and Melvin Adon (Save, 9) combined to shut out the Rumble Ponies the rest of the way. Adon has not allowed an earned run across seven appearances in the month of June while tallying three saves holding opposing hitters to a .097 average.

The Flying Squirrels finish their series with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Sunday, when left-hander Garrett Williams (1-7, 4.42 ERA) is scheduled to face left-hander David Peterson (3-2, 4.55 ERA). First pitch is slated for 2:05 p.m., and coverage begins with the Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup presented by Air Force Reserve at 1:35 on Sports Radio 910 the Fan and 105.1 FM.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth. The All-Star Week festivities begin on Sunday, July 7 with Mayor Levar Stoney’s All-Star Week Kickoff on Brown’s Island, followed by the All-Star Country Music Jam on Monday, July 8, headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway. The Celebrity Home Run Derby is Tuesday, July 9 and the festivities wrap up with the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 10.

For tickets or more information, call 804-359-3866 (FUNN), visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets or stop by the Flying Squirrels box office.