After a loss in each of the first two games of the series, the Potomac Nationals (19-16 Overall, 13-8 Road) saw their offense come alive over the final two games vs. the Winston-Salem Dash (14-24 Overall, 5-16 Home). Sunday afternoon, the P-Nats tallied 13 runs on 16 hits. In a Monday matinee, Potomac used a six-run fourth inning in route to a 9-3 victory that earned a series split.
Though Potomac fell behind early, RHP Boone Whiting (W, 4-1) was great over seven innings. Whiting allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly but then kept the Dash off the scoreboard until the seventh, when the game was well in hand.
The P-Nats smothered Dash RHP Matt Cooper (L, 2-3) to the tune of seven runs over just four innings. Like the Dash, the first Potomac run of the game was unearned, as RF Dale Carey reached on an error to start the second inning and he later scored on an RBI single by 2B Bryan Mejia.
After a 1-2-3 inning for Cooper in the third, the P-Nats unloaded their offense on the righty in the fourth. Carey started the frame with a walk,DH Drew Ward singled, and Cooper walked Mejia, which loaded the bases. LF Alec Keller grounded out to second base, but both 2B Toby Thomas and Barnum went after the ball, and no one covered first, which allowed everyone move up 90 feet and put Potomac on top 2-1. C Matt Reistetter followed with an infield RBI single that went in, and then out, of the glove of Cooper on the mound. With two runs home in the frame, 3B David Masters stepped in and launched a grand slam over the wall in left field. It was Masters’ third home run of the season and Potomac’s first grand slam of 2016. The P-Nats sent 10 men to the plate and plated six in a single inning for the second straight game.
Whiting gave a pair of runs back in the seventh as he allowed three straight two-out singles to CF Hunter Jones, LF Adam Engel, and 3B Gerson Montilla, the latter two which plated a run. He departed after seven innings with his fifth straight quality start. Potomac got a run back in the top of the eighth on a bases loaded error by Thomas with RHP Colin Kleven on the hill, then scored the final run of the game on an RBI single by Mejia in the ninth. LHP Justin Thomas worked an eight-pitch 1-2-3 eighth inning and RHP Ryan Brinley worked around a pair of baserunners in the ninth to secure Potomac’s 9-3 win.
Ward led the way with three hits for the second straight game, while Masters had a season high four RBIs. Reistetter also had three hits, while Mejia and Keller each had a pair of hits.
The Carolina Mudcats will now head to Woodbridge, VA and get a three game series started with the P-Nats. RHP Luis Reyes (2-2, 3.90) is scheduled to start for Potomac, while RHP Enderson Franco (3-1, 6.09) will make his second straight start vs. Potomac for the Mudcats. Franco allowed two earned runs over seven innings on May 12th at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. First pitch is set for 7:05 at Pfitzner Stadium.
The Potomac Nationals Baseball Network will carry live coverage of the game beginning with the “P-Nats Lead-Off Show” at 6:50. P-Nats Gameday Audio on the Potomac Nationals Baseball Network is available at www.potomacnationals.com or via the TuneIn Radio App.
The brief three-game homestand will feature Two Dollar Tuesday in the opener, with GA tickets at just $2 and rotating $2 concession specials. Wednesday night, Belly Buster Night will feature the Kool Zone, a Caribbean fusion vendor as part of the All-You-Can-Eat buffet available as a ticket add-on. The homestand concludes Thursday night with Thursday Cheers, as select drinks will be available for $1 during the game.
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