The Potomac Nationals (40-35, 6-1) had their season best seven-game win streak snapped Friday night in an 8-1 loss to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (40-39, 4-5). Despite another three-hit game for 2B Max Schrock, Potomac managed just nine hits overall, as RHP Erick Leal (W, 10-3) notched his league leading 10th win of the season.
In his first non-quality start with Potomac, RHP Austen Williams (L, 0-3) allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits over five innings. The righty gave up two runs in the second inning, a pair of runs in the third frame, and another three in fourth. C Ian Rice drew a lead off walk in the second inning and scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by 2B David Bote. Two batters later, LF Daniel Spingola singled home 1B Yasiel Balaguert, which proved to be the eventual winning hit.
In the third inning, DH Rashad Crawford reached on a one-out infield single off of Williams’ glove. SS Gleyber Torres followed with a double, and Rice drove both home with a bloop single to right field, which made it 4-0 Pelicans. Williams then gave up five straight hits to start the fourth inning, as Crawford’s RBI Single made it 5-0 Myrtle Beach, Torres’ RBI single made it 6-0, and a wild pitch plated Crawford. Myrtle Beach led 7-0 after four innings.
The Potomac offense couldn’t muster anything against Leal, who is now 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA in three starts vs. the P-Nats. Leal needed just 57 pitches over five-shutout innings. The righty allowed just four hits, did not walk a batter, and tied a season high with seven strikeouts. Schrock singled against Leal in the first inning, RF Drew Vettleson tripled and was left at third base in the second, while SS Osvaldo Abreu and C Raudy Read each singled in the fourth frame. Leal faced just three over the minimum over his five innings of work.
In relief of Leal, RHP Pedro Araujo allowed two hits and walked a man over two shutout innings, while RHP Daury Torrez pitched the final two innings of the night. Torrez worked a scoreless eighth but Read led off the ninth inning with a solo home run, his fourth of the season and third of the year vs. Myrtle Beach. For Potomac,RHP Mario Sanchez pitched two perfect innings out of the pen, while RHP Wirkin Estevez gave up a solo home run to RF Jeffrey Baez in the eighth.
The Pelicans had six different starters with two hits, eight of nine starters had at least one hit, and all nine starters reached base at least once. Schrock extended his multi-hit game streak to four games with another three-hit night, while Abreu and Read each had a pair of hits in the loss. DH Jose Marmolejos had his season high 12-game hit streak snapped with an 0-4 night.
With the series tied at a game apiece, Potomac will turn to RHP Luis Reyes (4-7, 5.00) Saturday night. Reyes comes in off of his best start in more than a month, as the righty allowed just one run over six innings last time out in a victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats. Reyes is 0-2 with a 16.19 ERA in two starts vs. the Pelicans. RHP Jake Stinnett (6-3, 3.36) is set to start for the Myrtle Beach. Stinnett has won two straight starts and has not pitched against Potomac in 2016. First pitch Saturday night is set for 7:05pm.
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Chris Graham
