Parker's power leads Squirrels' romp

When Jarrett Parker stepped in to lead off the game for Double-A Richmond on Sunday afternoon, he pretty well set the stage for the events to follow by connecting on a home run to center field.

When he came up again in the first inning and took another ball deep, it was pretty clear he was onto something.

Parker fueled a nine-run opening inning, reached safely four more times and drove in a team-record seven runs as the Flying Squirrels rolled to a 20-9 romp over the Altoona Curve at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The 24-year-old outfielder went 4-for-6 with a double and a walk and was hit by a pitch. The seven RBIs eclipsed the club record of six, set most recently by Chris Dominguez on June 27, 2011 at Harrisburg.

It was an appropriate exclamation point on a remarkable three-game stretch for Parker. He launched a solo shot on Friday and hit two more homers Saturday before duplicating the feat Sunday.

"I made good contact [on the two home runs], got good extension, felt real good," he said. "That was awesome, it was a great night. The whole team was batting well and we just kind of batted through the lineup.

"To be honest, when I got up the second time I wasn't thinking about too much. All my teammates were hitting great, so it kind of just kept up the momentum."

It was a record-setting day for the Richmond franchise, now in its fourth season. The 20 runs are the most the Flying Squirrels have scored in a game, the 22 hits matched the team mark and the nine-run first was the most prolific inning in club history. Parker also became the first Flying Squirrel to hit two homers in one inning.

The three-game surge has doubled his home run total for the season to 10. It brought a .247/.328/.437 line up to .266/.347/.521 and increased his RBI total from 19 to 30.

For his part, the 2010 second-round pick had a mostly relaxed outlook on the run.

"I don't think I have [had a stretch like this] before. It's pretty cool, I'm just trying to take it in stride, keep grinding," he said. "I'm definitely more confident up there right now. I'm just glad the team's doing well, feeling great about it."

Last season, Parker hit .247/.366/.443 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs for Class A Advanced San Jose.

Brett Krill got in on the hit parade Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a homer, double and five RBIs before leaving in the fourth inning. Ryan Lollis went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored and Giants No. 4 prospect Joe Panik chipped in two two hits and drove in two runs.

Even Richmond's starting pitcher, Carlos Teller, went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

"It was awesome, great to see our hitters on fire," Parker said. "Everybody did well today, everybody swung the bat well. It was great to see."

Altoona starter Luis Angel Sanz (2-2) did not retire a batter and was charged with six runs on four hits and two walks as his ERA climbed from 3.65 to 5.84.