P-Nats pitching dominates in 5-1 victory over Salem

Dominant performances on the mound from a trio of pitchers led the Potomac Nationals (56-64, 23-27) to a 5-1 win over the Salem Red Sox (67-53, 27-25) on Tuesday night. RHP Joan Baez (W, 2-8), RHP Mariano Rivera III, and LHP Jordan Mills allowed just two combined hits for the P-Nats in the victory, and no hits over the final seven+ innings. Potomac pitching retired 14 straight at one point, as the home team held the Red Sox to a season-low in hits.

Baez recorded his second straight quality start, as he allowed just one run on two hits over six innings. The Potomac righty retired 12 consecutive hitters from the third through sixth innings. Baez gave up a one-out single to SS Jeremy Rivera in the first inning, and surrendered a solo home run to 1B Jordan Betts, which led off the top of the second inning. Betts’ 13^th home run of the season was the final hit of the game for the Red Sox.

Potomac took an early lead, with some help from Betts defensively. On two different occasions in the frame, LHP Matthew Kent (L, 7-6) appeared to get out of the inning with a pickoff at first base, but on both occasions, misplays by Betts kept the inning going. After consecutive two-out singles by DH Austin Davidson and 1B Ian Sagdal, C Jakson Reetz made it 2-0 Potomac with a two-run double.

Betts’ home run in the second inning pulled the Red Sox within one run, but Salem had just one man reach scoring position in the rest of the game. Baez issued a two-out walk to C Austin Rei in the second inning, while CF Chris Madera drew a leadoff walk in the third inning and was left at second base. After Madera’s walk, Baez retired 12 straight and finished off his night and the sixth inning with two straight strikeouts.

The P-Nats pulled away with a run in the fifth frame and another two runs in the sixth, all charged to Kent. CF Daniel Johnson drew a one-out walk, and scored three batters later on an RBI groundout by Sagdal. In the sixth, the first three Potomac hitters reached base. SS Edwin Lora’s RBI single made it 4-1, while 2B Tyler Beckwithnotched his first Carolina League RBI with a sacrifice fly, which made it 5-1, the eventual final.

With the four-run advantage, Rivera entered for Baez to begin the seventh inning. The right-handed reliever retired six of the seven Salem hitters that he faced, while Mills retired the side in order in the ninth inning.

Off of two consecutive wins over the Red Sox, Potomac is just three games behind Salem in the playoff race. With a chance to guarantee a series victory, RHP Luis Reyes (7-12, 4.78) will take the mound for Potomac on Wednesday night. Reyes has picked up the loss in two straight starts, but allowed just two earned runs over 6.1 innings in his last start. For the Red Sox, RHP Mike Shawaryn (4-4, 4.55) will try to get the current playoff bound team back on track. Shawaryn is 0-2 in his last three starts, and has been charged with at least three earned runs in each of the three efforts.

First pitch on Wednesday is set for 7:05pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:50pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.