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Dash win offensive outburst over Potomac

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In the first matchup at Pfitzner Stadium in 2017 between the Potomac Nationals (57-66, 24-29) and Winston-Salem Dash (50-75, 26-29), the teams combined for 20 runs on 28 hits in a marathon matchup Friday night. The Dash scored in six of their nine trips to the plate in route to a season-high 14 runs in a 14-6 victory.

p-natsIt was a brisk first two innings of the game, as both starting pitchers had fairly easy early frames. Both LHP Taylor Guilbeau (L, 4-4) and RHP Jimmy Lambert (4-2) retired the side in order in the first inning. 1B Matt Rose led off the second inning with a double for the Dash, while RF Louis Silverio made it 1-0 Winston-Salem with an RBI groundout. The Dash led the rest of the way.

Both teams struck for three runs in the third inning. The leadoff man C Daniel Gonzalez reached on an error, SS Yeyson Yrizarri doubled, and CF Joel Booker plated two runs with Winston-Salem’s second double of the inning. Two batters later, DH Seby Zavala made it 4-0 with an RBI single. In the home half of the frame, the first three batters reached for Potomac, as 3B Bryan Mejia got the P-Nats on the board with an RBI double, and LF Jack Sundberg plated a pair of runs with a two-run single.

The Dash scored the next five runs of the game, one in the fourth and four in the fifth, all against Guilbeau. Guilbeau allowed nine runs, seven earned, in just 4.2 innings. A run scored on a throwing error by Guilbeau in the fourth inning, while Rose made it 6-3 with an RBI double. A sacrifice fly from Silverio made it 7-3, while Gonzalez followed with a double, which knocked Guilbeau out of the game. RHP Ronald Pena inherited two runners and gave up a two-run single to Yrizarri, as the Dash led 9-3 after 4.5 innings.

Potomac tagged Lambert for two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the right-handed starter’s final inning of work. 1B Tyler Beckwith led off the inning with a home run, his first of the season, while CF Daniel Johnsonmade it back-to-back home runs with his fourth home run of the year. The Dash led 9-5 after five full frames.

Three different Winston-Salem relievers combined for four innings of one run baseball, while the Potomac duo of Pena and RHP Gilberto Mendez gave up five runs over 4.2 innings.

The P-Nats scored their final run of the night on a double steal and throwing error in the seventh inning, while the Dash put the game away with four runs in the eighth inning against Mendez and another run in the ninth against the Potomac righty. Yrizarri greeted Mendez with a three-run home run in the eighth inning, the first batter that the right-handed reliever faced. Three batters later, Zavala launched his seventh home run of the season. With one out in the final frame, Silverio tallied his fourth home run of the season, which made it 14-6 Winston-Salem, the eventual final.

Despite the loss, the P-Nats remain just three games out of a playoff spot. In game two of the three-game series, RHP Sterling Sharp (2-1, 5.06) will make his third start of the season for Potomac. Sharp relieved RHP Stephen Strasburg last time out and allowed just one run over four innings. For the Dash, RHP A.J. Puckett (11-11, 3.86) will make just his third start of the season for Winston-Salem after a trade sent him from the Kansas City Royals to the Chicago White Sox. Puckett has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last eight starts, and has made six of his 20 starts this year vs. Potomac.

First pitch on Saturday is set for 6:35pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:20pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.

Saturday night, be one of the first 1,250 fans to the game vs. the Dash and receive an Anthony Rendon “Real Electric Hair” bobblehead, presented by Burke & Herbert Bank. It’s the final Scout Night of the season. Three-time World Series Champion Dwight “Doc” Gooden will be in attendance for a free meet & greet autograph signing. Kids can run the bases after the game, and there will be a Flying Dog Brewery beer tasting.

The homestand wraps up with a 1:05pm game on Sunday. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2005 Inaugural Potomac Nationals replica jersey, presented by APlus. It’s the second to last Kids Day Sunday, which includes Kids Run the Bases, Kids Eat Free, P-Nats Player Autograph Signings, and a post-game catch on the field. The P-Nats will wear their camouflage Military Appreciation jerseys, presented by Reality Realty.

Contributors

Contributors

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