Trenton, NJ - The Trenton Thunder (2-1) limited Richmond to three hits in a 6-2 defeat of the Flying Squirrels (1-2) on Saturday afternoon in frigid Trenton, NJ. Dylan Davis and Jerry Sands each launched solo home runs for Richmond in the loss. Trenton took advantage of eight walks and
Trenton, NJ - The Trenton Thunder (2-1) limited Richmond to three hits in a 6-2 defeat of the Flying Squirrels (1-2) on Saturday afternoon in frigid Trenton, NJ. Dylan Davis and Jerry Sands each launched solo home runs for Richmond in the loss. Trenton took advantage of eight walks and six wild pitches to take game three of the four game series. Thunder starter Dillon Tarte dealt six innings in the win.
The Thunder manufactured a run in the first inning without the benefit of a hit for a 1-0 lead. Gosuke Katoh worked a leadoff walk and advanced to second a base hit. A groundout from Chris Gittens moved Katoh to third and he scored on the second wild pitch of the inning. Johnson regained his composure and struck out Bruce Caldwell to end the inning.
Dylan Davis tied the contest in the top of the second inning with a solo home run over the left centerfield wall. Davis homered off Yankees No. 10 prospect Dillon Tate and has homered in two of the first three contests of the year.
Richmond starter Jordan Johnson scuffled with the execution of his breaking ball and allowed a pair of runs in the third to fall behind, 3-1. Johnson walked Jorge Saez and Chris Gittens and unleashed a pair of wild pitches that brought home the second run of the game. Bruce Caldwell then launched a double down the right field line for a 3-1 Trenton advantage.
Tate recovered from the Davis home run and retired 12 consecutive batters into the sixth inning. The righty allowed just one run on two hits. Tate (1-0) walked one and struck out five to earn the win.
More control issues plagued Johnson in the fourth, leading to another run and an early departure for the righty. Rashad Crawford worked a walk to begin the inning and took second via a balk. After a groundout, Johnson reached his pitch limit of 75 and was replaced by Dan Slania. Trenton's Ben Ruta muscled a sacrifice fly off Slania for a 4-1 lead.
Johnson (0-1) lasted 3.1 innings and allowed the four runs on two hits. The righty walked five and struck out five while tossing five wild pitches. Slania worked 2.2 innings of relief and Caleb Simpson punched out a pair of batters in his Richmond debut.
Jerry Sands homered in the ninth to trim the deficit to 6-2 before Joe Harvey finished the game.
NOTES:
- Luigi Rodriguez made his Richmond debut in the contest. Rodriguez hit sixth and player right field. The 25 year-old was signed as a free agent form the Indians system and did serious damage against Richmond last year by going 17-48 with three home runs and 7 RBI.
- Johnson tossed five wild pitches in the outing, matching his total from 21 appearances in 2017. The five wild pitches sets a franchise record for wild pitches in a game.
- Davis has two home runs through three games. It took the slugger 20 games to reach two homers with Richmond last season.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, NJ. Richmond's retuning southpaw Matt Gage will make the start against Trenton RHP Will Carter. The Squirrels will return home on April 13 for the home opener at The Diamond. The team is pushing for their ninth consecutive Opening Night sellout crowd. Limited tickets for the event that featured dueling fireworks and Fred McGriff remain by contacting the box office at 804-359-3866 or online at squirrelsbaseball.com.
