Despite 25 combined hits, the Potomac Nationals (4-2) and Frederick Keys (2-4) tallied just eight total runs, as the P-Nats picked up a 5-3 win in the first non-blowout game of the series. RHP Luis Reyes (W, 1-1) allowed just two runs over six innings, while C Taylor Gushue hit his second home run of the series. Gushue finished the game with four RBIs, eight runs driven in in the series.
After each team had a blowout win and loss in the first two games of the series, the P-Nats and Keys played their most competitive game in Wednesday’s matinee. Despite scoring opportunities for both sides in each of the first six half innings, the game remained scoreless, as Reyes and LHP Keegan Akin traded zeroes and stranded runners in scoring position.
Potomac struck first with a two-out rally in the fifth frame against Akin. DH Bryan Mejia and 3B Kelvin Gutierrez each had a two-out single, while Gushue followed with a three-run home run, his second blast of the series. Gushue also hit a grand slam in the series opener.
Reyes cruised through nearly the entirety of his start, as he walked only one and struck out five. Reyes surrendered a one out double to DH Jomar Reyes in the sixth inning, and after he set down C Yermin Mercedes, Reyes surrendered a two-run home run on a two-strike pitch to 1B Alex Murphy. Reyes departed after six full innings for Potomac’s first quality start of the season.
In relief of Reyes, RHP Dakota Bacus (SV, 1) pitched well over the final three innings. Bacus gave up a single in the seventh frame, a single in the eighth inning, and a solo home run in the ninth. Prior to CF Austin Hays’ solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, the P-Nats added a pair of insurance runs against RHP Jay Flaa. LF Telmito Agustin began the frame with a double that LF Randolph Gassaway lost in the sun. CF Victor Robles followed with a sacrifice bunt and reached first base safely on a fielding error by Murphy. Mejia plated Agustin with a sacrifice fly, which made it 4-2. Robles then stole second base and advanced to third base as Mercedes’ throw to second made its way into the outfield. Gushue followed with a sacrifice fly, which made it 5-2.
3B Drew Turbin pinch hit for 3B Ricardo Andujar to begin the bottom of the ninth inning and singled, but Bacus got 2B Stevie Wilkerson to ground into a double play. After Hays homered, SS Ryan Mountcastle flied out to centerfield, as Potomac took the rubber match of the series 5-3.
With the win, Potomac earned its second straight road series victory, and heads back home for their home opener on Thursday night in first place in the Northern Division. In the opener on Thursday night vs. the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the starting pitchers, LHP Hector Silvestre (0-0, 6.75) for Potomac and RHP Scott Blewett (0-0, 5.40) for Wilmington, will battle for the second time in a week, as the two faced off on Saturday, a 12-inning 4-3 win for the P-Nats. Silvestre allowed three runs over four innings in a no-decision, while Blewett allowed three runs over five innings. The rematch gets underway at 7:05pm Thursday night at Pfitzner Stadium. The Potomac broadcast gets underway with the “P-Nats Leadoff Show” at 6:50pm. The broadcast can be heard on potomacnationals.com or via the TuneIn Radio App.
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Chris Graham
