Behind a season-high four RBIs from 1B Aldrem Corredor, the Potomac Nationals (59-49, 22-19) ran away with a 7-0 win over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (50-63, 16-27) on Sunday afternoon. The victory completed a three-game sweep for the P-Nats, who have now won five straight games vs. Myrtle Beach.
RHP Joan Baez (W, 7-8) had an up and down outing for Potomac, yet managed to keep the Pelicans off the scoreboard despite 91 pitches over five innings. Baez went to a full count to each of the first four batters of the game, but despite a single and a walk, Baez worked a scoreless first inning. The Pelicans got consecutive singles off of the right-handed Potomac starter to begin the third inning, but stranded runners at second and third base. After a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, Baez got a double play, and faced just four batters in the frame, and he then finished his outing with a perfect fifth inning.
The Potomac offense clicked on all cylinders throughout the afternoon against LHP Justin Steele (L, 0-1), LHP Jose Paulino, and LHP Ryan Kellogg. The P-Nats scored in four of the first five innings, with multiple runs three times in that span.
With three runs in the first three innings, Potomac matched its offensive total from the entirety of the club’s doubleheader sweep over the Pelicans on Saturday night. Corredor made it 1-0 Potomac with a bases loaded RBI groundout in the first inning, while SS Luis Garcia scored on a wild pitch from Steele. Two innings later, the first three Potomac hitters tallied a hit against Steele, as the first of two doubles on the day from Corredor made it 3-0 Potomac. Steele struck out five and walked just one, but allowed three runs on six hits over just three innings.
Paulino didn’t fare any better against Potomac than Steele, as the left-handed reliever gave up two runs in both the fourth and the fifth frames. Corredor’s second double in as many innings plated a pair of runs in the fourth inning, while consecutive two-out RBI singles from LF Telmito Agustin and DH Bryan Mejia made it 7-0 Potomac after five innings. Paulino was charged with four runs on seven hits in just three innings out of the Myrtle Beach bullpen.
Things settled down in the final four frames for both sides, as both bullpens held the opposition in check. LHP Matthew Crownover, LHP Hayden Howard, RHP Jacob Condra-Bogan, and RHP Jhon Romero combined for four innings of four-hit shutout relief out of the Potomac bullpen, while Kellogg worked two scoreless innings to close out Myrtle Beach’s afternoon on the mound.
In the series sweep, the P-Nats allowed just one run in 23 innings. The shutout for the Pelicans was their 18th of the season, a new franchise record for shutouts in a single season. The top four hitters in Potomac’s order each finished with at least three hits, as Mejia, Garcia, and 3B Ian Sagdal each tallied three hits, while Corredor finished with a season-high four hits.
Off of the sweep, the P-Nats will have Monday off, but remain at home, as a series vs. the Frederick Keys at Northwest Federal Field is set to begin on Tuesday night.
First pitch at Northwest Federal Field on Tuesday is set for 7:05pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:50pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com, at http://bit.ly/P-NatsBroadcast, or on the TuneIn Radio App.
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Chris Graham
