In a back and forth battle, the Potomac Nationals (54-43, 20-9) held off multiple late rallies in a 7-6 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash (40-60, 12-18) Sunday night. The Dash left the tying man in scoring position in the final two frames, as Potomac wrapped up its second five-game sweep of the season.
A game that featured 25 hits and seven total errors started off very sloppy for both sides, as both teams scored as the result of an error in the first inning. After two outs on three total pitches to start the game, LHP Matthew Spann (ND) gave up a single to RF Mason Robbins, who then advanced to second base on a passed ball. LF Nick Basto hit what appeared to be an inning-ending ground ball to SS Bryan Mejia, but the shortstop’s throw sailed over everything at first base, as Robbins scored and the Dash led 1-0 after half an inning.
Making a start against Potomac for the second time in three appearances, LHP Tanner Banks (ND) saw his defense plague him throughout the outing as well. LF Alec Keller reached on a throwing error by 3B Gerson Montilla to start the bottom of the first, while 2B Max Schrock’s one-out single put men on the corners. 1B Jose Marmolejos beat out a potential double play ball, which plated Keller, and C Raudy Read followed with a two-out RBI single. Potomac led 2-1 after one inning, though neither pitcher allowed an earned run in the frame.
The Dash then scored in three of the next four innings, all against Spann. The Potomac starter walked DH Marcus Davis to start the second inning and allowed a double to 2B Toby Thomas. With men at second and third base, SS Cleuluis Rondon’s RBI groundout tied the game at two, while Montilla’s two-out single made it 3-1 Winston-Salem. Basto tripled to start the third and scored on an RBI single by 1B Telvin Nash, as the Dash led 4-2 after 2.5 innings. Winston-Salem added a run on a leadoff solo home run by Zack Collins in the fifth inning, as Spann departed with two outs in the frame with Potomac down 5-2. Spann allowed five runs, four earned, over 4.2 innings in the no-decision.
Potomac clawed back into the game with multi-run innings in the sixth and seventh. Banks, who did not allow an earned run until the sixth inning, gave up back-to-back hits to Schrock and Marmolejos to start the sixth frame. With runners at second and third base, Read reached on a fielding error by Montilla at third base, which brought home Schrock. A misplay on a bunt by 3B Austin Davidson resulted in an error on Banks, which loaded the bases. Mejia brought home a run with an RBI groundout, which cut the deficit to one, but RHP Manny Martinez (L, 1-6) came out of the bullpen and got the final two outs in the inning, as the P-Nats left the bases loaded.
Down 5-4 at the seventh inning stretch, Potomac tallied three runs against Martinez, who had trouble finding the strike zone, in the bottom half of the frame. Martinez issued a leadoff walk to DH Osvaldo Abreu but then quickly got the next two outs. Read singled, while Davidson walked, which loaded the bases. Mejia put Potomac on top 6-5 with a two-run double, while back-to-back walks to CF Dale Carey and 3B David Masters plated another run and made it 7-5, though Potomac once again left the bases loaded. Potomac went just 2-12 with RISP and left 10 men on base, seven over the final three innings.
In relief of Spann, RHP Mario Sanchez (W, 4-0) got the final out of the fifth inning and then faced the minimum over the next two frames. Back out for the eighth, he gave up a leadoff triple to Thomas, who finished the night with four hits. An RBI single by Rondon made it a one-run game, though he was stranded at third base. Sanchez struck out CF Landon Lassiter, LHP RC Orlan got Robbins to fly out to left field, while RHP Gilberto Mendez (SV, 5) induced a lineout from Basto. Mendez returned for the ninth and got the first two outs in quick fashion, before back-to-back singles by Davis and Thomas put the tying runner in scoring position once again. With a chance to tie the game with a hit, Rondon flied out to centerfield, as Potomac won 7-6.
With a five-game sweep and now six consecutive victories at home, the P-Nats welcome the Salem Red Sox to town for a three game series that gets underway Monday night. RHP Erick Fedde (5-3, 3.45) is set to take the hill for Potomac, while the Red Sox are scheduled to start LHP Trey Ball (5-4, 3.89). Fedde has allowed one earned run or less in each of his last eight outings and is 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA over that span. First pitch of the series opener is set for 7:05pm.
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