Polanco, in his second season with the Low-A FredNats, improved to 6-2 (2.97 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 51Ks/29BBs in 63.2 IP) with the win.
The Nats broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth. Armando Cruz reached with a one-out single, went first-to-third on an E5, before Sammy Infante drove him in with a line drive single to left field.
One run was all the breathing room that Polanco needed, as he retired the first 17 Red Sox he faced, before allowing a two-out double in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he got out of that frame unscathed for his best start of 2024.
Polanco allowed just the one base hit and no walks, while striking out seven men.
Marcus Brown doubled the Fredericksburg lead with his RBI single in the top of the eighth, but Albert Feliz’s solo homer in the home half pulled Salem within a run once again.
Merrick Baldo ran into some trouble in the ninth inning, as Salem put runners on first and second base with two outs. Natanael Yuten then lined a ball up the middle that Cruz initially deflected, before he recovered and threw out what would have been the tying run for the Sox at the plate, to preserve the 2-1 Nats victory.
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Chris Graham
