Lynchburg overcame offensive frustration to steal away a 2-1 victory over the Potomac Nationals on Wednesday night at City Stadium. Michael Peoplesearned the win, defeating the Nationals’ top prospect in a pitchers’ duel.
DUCKS ON THE POND
Lynchburg stranded a season-high 16 runners on base against Potomac In the first, second, and seventh innings, the Hillcats left the bases loaded to end the inning and left multiple runners on base in five of the eight innings they came to the plate. Their previous high of 14 runners left on base came in a 16-inning contest on April 13 at Frederick.
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER
Michael Peoples squared off against the top prospect still remaining in Minor League Baseball according to MLB.com, Lucas Giolito, and shined in the spotlight to earn his fifth win of the year. Peoples pitched a career-high seven complete innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out two. Giolito received a no-decision after holding the Hillcats scoreless through four innings, but he was removed from the game after reaching 86 pitches.
BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIER
Lynchburg left 13 guys stranded through the first six innings, eight of which were left in scoring position, but they finally broke through to get on the board in the bottom half of the seventh. Potomac plated the first run of the game in the top of the second inning on an RBI double by Drew Ward to take an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Justin Thomas surrendered four straight hits to the Hillcats. With the bases loaded, Nellie Rodriguez, came in to score on a passed ball by Thomas to tie the game, 1-1, and Mike Papi drove home the go-ahead run with an RBI single to right field to give the Hillcats the 2-1 lead.
AUDIO: Papi’s game-winning RBI
KEEPING UP WITH THE ‘CATS
Joe Sever and Eric Haase now have the longest active hitting streaks on the team with hits in their last five games…With the win and a Wilmington loss to Salem, the Hillcats remain in contention to win the first half, as they are just three games out with four games to play before the All-Star break. ..Ironically, Peoples’ previous career-long outing came against Lynchburg while he was still a member of the Carolina Mudcats…Peoples went 6 2/3 innings at City Stadium on July 9, 2014 for his previous best…The Hillcats have left double-digit men on base 10 times this season and left the bases loaded five times in their series against Potomac…Lynchburg went 0-for-6 with the bases loaded in the series finale and 0-for-9 over its three games against the Nationals.
UP NEXT
Lynchburg hits the road for the final four games of the first half against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at 7:05 p.m.. D.J. Brown (4-2, 4.42) will square off against Tyler Skulina (2-4, 3.27). Fans can tune in to the action on ESPN Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:40 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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Chris Graham
