The Potomac Nationals (17-27) got another brilliant start from RHP Kyle Johnston on Tuesday night, exacting a measure of revenge on the Down East Wood Ducks (31-15) with a 6-3 victory.
A three-run fourth inning, helped by a Down East defensive miscue, gave the P-Nats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as they evened their series one game apiece.
Johnston (W, 5-4) improved to 4-0 in the month of May, turning in his fourth consecutive quality start and second in as many tries against Down East. The righty went 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
The Wood Ducks struck first in the second inning on 1B Sam Huff’s solo home run to right field. It was only the third homer allowed by Johnston this season, and would be the only major mistake the Potomac ace made on the night.
Down East RHP Reid Anderson (L, 2-1) allowed just one hit over his first three scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth when he hit DH Cole Freeman with a pitch to start the frame. 1B Aldrem Corredor followed with a hit-and-run single, and C KJ Harrison tied the score with a sacrifice fly to left. Then, with two outs and a pair of runners on base, SS David Masters hit a routine fly to right that was misplayed by RF Leody Taveras and allowed both runners to come home. Potomac led 3-1, and would nurse that advantage throughout the rest of the evening.
Huff led off the fifth with a double off the wall in left-center, and scored two batters later on a groundout from CF JP Martinez. But Potomac got the run back on a two-out RBI double from 2B Osvaldo Abreu in the sixth, bringing the lead back to 4-2.
Johnston departed after 6.0 innings, and RHP Jhonatan German was greeted rudely by a solo home run in the seventh from 3B Ryan Dorow. It was Dorow’s third long ball of the series after a pair of three-run shots in Monday’s Down East victory.
With the lead cut to 4-3 heading into the ninth, Potomac manufactured two insurance runs off RHP Michael Matuella to earn some breathing room. Abreu led off with a walk, CF Nick Banks singled to put runners at the corners, and Freeman dropped down a safety squeeze bunt to make the score 5-3. One batter later, Corredor laced his third single of the night to score Banks and give Potomac a 6-3 advantage.
Without an established closer on the roster, the P-Nats went to RHP Bryan Bonnell (S, 1) in just his third appearance with the team to finish off the ninth. The veteran righty allowed a pair of singles, but put up a zero to secure the victory.
The P-Nats play a late morning game on Wednesday as LHP Grant Borne faces off against RHP Jason Bahr in game three of the series. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 10:45 a.m. with the P-Nats Leadoff Show, with a scheduled first pitch of 11:00 from Grainger Stadium in Kinston. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.
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