Martina slams FredNats to first home series win

The Fredericksburg Nationals secured their first home series victory on Sunday night, drubbing the Delmarva Shorebirds 16-7 on the strength of a five-hit, five-RBI night from Junior Martina.

Martina’s grand slam capped a six-run second inning, and his 5-for-6 performance at the plate marked the first five-hit game in team history. The FredNats took four of six from the Shorebirds, marking their second series win of the year and first since late May.

The Shorebirds took an early 1-0 lead in the first, as Mason Janvrin hit a solo homer against FredNats starter Carlos Romero. Romero’s night ended with only one inning pitched, as he was ejected from the game after an umpire examination.

The FredNats answered back in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Martina, and exploded for six runs in the second. Braian Fernández hit a go-ahead RBI double against Shorebirds starter Jake Lyons (L, 2-2), José Sánchez added an RBI single against reliever Jake Zebron, and Martina put an exclamation point on the outburst with the team’s second grand slam of the season.

In his first game as a member of the Nationals organization, Jordy Barley showed off an impressive skill set. The speedy shortstop drew three walks, stole a base, scored four runs and hit a two-run homer in the third inning to extend the Fredericksburg lead to 9-1. Back-to-back doubles from Kevin Strohschein and Geraldi Diaz later in the third stretched the lead to 11-1.

A solo home run from Jean Carmona in the fourth was the only mistake for Gilberto Chu (W, 2-0), who worked 3.2 innings of one-run relief after Romero’s departure. The Fredericksburg lead kept getting bigger thanks to a fifth-inning homer from Strohschein, his team-leading ninth of the year, and a sixth-inning RBI single from Sánchez.

Leading 16-2 in the eighth, the FredNats allowed five runs to the Shorebirds as Leif Strom lost command of the strike zone. Tyler Yankosky got the final out of the eighth and all three outs in the ninth to close out the homestand with a win.

After an off day on Monday, the FredNats hit the road for a six-game series against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Tuesday. First pitch from Segra Stadium is scheduled for 6:30, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:15 on the FredNats Baseball Network.