Dash top P-Nats in series opener

The Potomac Nationals (9-16) took an early lead in Monday night’s series opener in Winston-Salem, but saw DH Luis Robert take command of the game in the middle innings to give the Dash (14-11) a 12-5 win.

Robert finished a double shy of the cycle in a 4-for-5 night, and 1B Jameson Fisher hit his first two home runs of the season as part of a 15-hit assault for Winston-Salem. The game was the first of seven consecutive played between the two teams, with a four-game set in North Carolina followed by a weekend homestand for the P-Nats in Virginia.

Potomac struck first in the second inning off RHP Lincoln Henzman (W, 1-0), turning a leadoff single from 1B KJ Harrison into a run on C Jakson Reetz’s RBI triple. It was just the second career triple for Reetz, and his first since the 2014 season. Reetz came home on a groundout from 3B Anderson Franco, and the P-Nats led 2-0.

Winston-Salem was quick to answer in the bottom half of the inning off LHP Nick Raquet (L, 1-4), as a pair of errors from 2B Cole Freeman led to an unearned run. They would go on to tie the game in the third when 2B Nick Madrigal hit a leadoff double and came home on a wild pitch.

The Dash began utilizing the long ball with two outs in the fourth inning, getting a solo home run from LF JJ Muno and two-run shot from Robert to take a 5-2 lead. Potomac would retaliate in the fifth with a two-out rally of their own, chipping away at the deficit with back-to-back doubles from 2B Osvaldo Abreu and LF Telmito Agustin to bring the score to 5-3.

Though the results were far from his perfect three-inning outing against Potomac two starts ago, Henzman completed 5.0 innings for the first time this season to qualify for the win. After Fisher hit his first home run off Raquet in the fifth, the Dash gave their starter more breathing room with a five-run sixth. Raquet departed after allowing the first two batters of the inning to reach base, and RHP Jhon Romero gave up RBI singles to 3B Yeyson Yrizzari and Robert before Fisher went deep for the second time in as many innings with a three-run shot to make the score 11-4.

DH Aldrem Corredor hit an RBI double off the top of the right-center wall against RHP Codi Heuer in the seventh, but the Winston-Salem bullpen kept Potomac out of reach for the remainder. Heuer and RHP Will Kincanon combined to pitch the last four frames as the Dash added a final run in the eighth off RHP AJ Bogucki to put the game on ice.

The P-Nats continue their series against Winston-Salem on Tuesday as RHP Andrew Lee makes his first start against RHP Zach Lewis. The Potomac Broadcast will get underway at 6:45 p.m. with the P-Nats Leadoff Show before a scheduled 7:00 first pitch from BB&T Ballpark. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.