New Hampshire smacked by Richmond

Manchester, N.H. – After three straight wins over Richmond, New Hampshire gave up seven runs in the top of the first inning on Sunday afternoon at Delta Dental Stadium. The Fisher Cats (16-17, 47-55) lost, 19-1, to the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants, 11-21, 51-50), and the two teams split the six-game series.

Richmond had just two hits in the first but scored seven with the help of five walks and two wild pitches. Brett Auerbach’s double brought home the first two runs, and the Flying Squirrels loaded the bases multiple times in the inning after that.

Starter Luis Quinones came out of the game with two outs in the inning, and Riley Mahan hit a grand slam on the second pitch he saw after the pitching change.

The Squirrels added a pair of doubles to score a run in the second, and Tyler Fitzgerald hit his 18th homer of the year in the third to make it 10-0.

Braden Scott went a season-long 3.1 innings with a career-high seven strikeouts. He struck out 13 batters in 5.1 innings this week.

The Fisher Cats had six hits in the game. Sebastian Espino now has hits in three straight games after his single in the second inning.

Addison Barger singled, and John Aiello walked in the sixth. Tyler Keenan crushed a ball deep to center field, nearly bringing home the first New Hampshire run, but Jacob Heyward made the catch at the wall.

After four more Richmond runs across the seventh and eighth, New Hampshire got on the board with two hits in the bottom of the eighth. The Fisher Cats lost, 19-1, in their largest defeat of the season. The most runs New Hampshire has allowed in team history was 20, also against Richmond in a 20-8 loss on August 2, 2018.

The Fisher Cats are off tomorrow. New Hampshire welcomes the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) for six games starting on Tuesday, August 9. Tickets can be found at NHFisherCats.com, via email at [email protected], over the phone at (603) 641-2005, or in-person at the Fisher Cats box office at 1 Line Drive in Manchester.