Geraldi Diaz homered and picked up a couple of RBIs, but the FredNats fell for the first time at Salem Memorial Ballpark 4-2 Friday. The FredNats still lead the six-game series 3-1.
Diaz came up with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and his fourth homer of the season in the ninth to bring the FredNats halfway back from a 4-0 deficit. Jared McKenzie finished with two hits and a run scored.
The FredNats could not overcome an early deficit that came from a two-run first inning home run by Chase Meidroth. The blast came against Andry Lara, who suffered the loss after allowing three runs in four innings. Bryan Pena and Brendan Collins combined to allow just one run in four innings of relief. Collins struck out three.
Felix Cepeda moved to 3-4 on the season with the win in relief for Salem. Osvaldo De La Rosa earned his second save with 2.2 innings of relief.
The FredNats begin the 2022 Carolina League playoffs this Tuesday. The team’s trip to the postseason will be the first for the franchise since the relocation to Fredericksburg. The playoffs will open with a best-of-three divisional round vs. Lynchburg September 13-16. The winner will meet either Myrtle Beach or Charleston September 18-21 for the championship.
The FredNats now stand at 41-22 in the second half. The team will host Lynchburg in the divisional round playoff game to open the postseason September 13 at 7:05 pm. Tickets are available at frednats.com/playoffs.
The team continues its series in Salem tomorrow at 6:05.
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Chris Graham
