The Potomac Nationals (41-41, 4-11) tried to muster a late rally against the Salem Red Sox (40-43, 8-7) on Friday night, but once again could not convert on the comeback attempt.
Tonight’s game, however, featured a 3-0 lead for Potomac, one they held until the top of the sixth inning. Potomac took the initial lead in the second on an RBI double from DH Jack Sundberg. LF Nick Basto started the rally with a lead off single, followed by a walk from RF Rhett Wiseman. After a wild pitch from Salem starter Jake Thompson (W, 4-7), both runners scored on the two-out base knock down the left field line from Sundberg.
Potomac added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth on back to back extra-base hits from the top of the order. 2B Bryan Mejia started the inning with a double, setting up SS Luis Garcia to connect on a double of his own, the first double and first run batted in of his young P-Nats career.
Meanwhile, Potomac starter Nick Raquet (ND) held Salem in check through the first five innings of play. It wasn’t until the sixth that the Red Sox would get to Raquet, cutting his night short after just 5.1 innings. A walk to DH CJ Chatham set the stage for 3B Bobby Dalbec’s league-leading 18th home run of the season. The next batter, 1B Michael Osinski, ripped a line drive back up the middle for a single that would put an end to Raquet’s night. In his first start at home, the lefty gave up three runs on four hits while striking out two.
RHP A.J. Bogucki came on and struck out the first batter he faced, but a stolen base and an error on the throw allowed Osinski to advance to third. Consecutive singles for CF Chris Madera and SS Deiner Lopez tied the game and gave Salem the lead, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 advantage. With Lopez standing on third, C Nick Sciortino tapped a soft grounder to shortstop, but Garcia could not convert on the throw. The third Potomac error of the inning gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead after five and a half innings of play.
The P-Nats cut the defecit in half off of RHP Kevin McAvoy in the bottom of the seventh, but could not complete the late-game comeback. After Mejia walked to lead off the frame, Garcia drove his second extra-base hit of the night to deep centerfield, an RBI triple to pull Potomac within one. McAvoy was able to strand the tying run at third however, retiring the last two batters without any further damage.
After two scoreless innings from RHP James Bourque, The Red, White, & Blue sought out their fourth walk-off win of the season. RHP Jake Cosart (SV, 5) allowed a one-out walk to 1B Ian Sagdal and hit C Tres Barrera with a pitch, but got 1B Aldrem Corredor to ground out and Basto to strikeout to close out the win.
Despite out-hitting Salem 10-6, Potomac dropped the third game of the five-game series against the Red Sox. Luis Garcia, who was named to the SiriusXM Futures Game earlier today, went 2-5 with a double, a triple, and his first two RBIs as a P-Nat in the loss.
Potomac looks to even the series on Saturday night, as RHP Joan Baez (3-7, 5.00) makes his 16th start of the season. At home this season, Baez is 1-2 with a 3.89 earned run average. For Salem, RHP Tanner Houck (3-10, 5.32), Boston’s first round pick in 2017, will make his second start of the year against The Red, White, & Blue, his first appearance at Northwest Federal Field.
First pitch at Northwest Federal Field on Saturday is set for 6:35pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:20pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com, at http://bit.ly/P-NatsBroadcast, or on the TuneIn Radio App.
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