The Potomac Nationals (10-17) snapped their four-game losing streak in a big way on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Winston-Salem Dash (15-12) by a score of 18-4. A seven-run eighth and five-run ninth gave the P-Nats their biggest offensive game of the season, establishing highs in hits and runs scored.
Potomac scored first for the fourth consecutive game, plating three runs in the first off starter LHP Cristian Castillo (L, 0-4). After a defensive miscue from 3B Tate Blackman scored the first run, SS David Masters got his career day started with a fly ball double to right-center that drove in two. It marked the first of five hits for Masters, securing the first five-hit game for Potomac this season.
RHP Malvin Peña (W, 2-1) excelled on the mound, taking the early lead and protecting it with a 5.0-inning start. The righty fanned six and allowed only two runs at the end of his afternoon.
Potomac’s lead was augmented in the third when 3B Anderson Franco lined a two-out, two-run single to left field. Franco had a two-hit game with a pair of singles and a walk.
Winston-Salem chipped away at the deficit with runs in the fourth and fifth off Peña, thanks to a 2B JJ Muno sacrifice fly and CF Steele Walker RBI double. But they would give a run back in the sixth, when 1B Jameson Fisher made a throwing error on an LF Aldrem Corredor grounder to score a run from third base. Peña left with a 6-2 lead, but the game would soon be well in hand.
RHP Steven Fuentes worked around trouble in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the Dash off the board, and Potomac broke the game open with a seven-run eighth. 1B KJ Harrison lined a two-run single to chase RHP Wyatt Burns from the game, and C Alex Dunlap’s RBI single off RHP Will Kincanon was followed by another Fisher error at first to plate two more. 2B Osvaldo Abreu capped off the wild inning with a two-run single of his own to put Potomac up 13-2.
Muno, the starting second baseman for the Dash, was called upon to finish the eighth inning on the mound, but he didn’t fare as well in the ninth. He allowed a two-run homer to Harrison, his first in a P-Nats uniform, followed by Masters’ team-leading sixth long ball of the year. By the time DH Cole Freeman dropped a two-run pop fly single into left, Potomac led by 16 with a five-run inning.
RHP Jhon Romero got the final six outs of the game for the P-Nats, allowing two harmless runs in the ninth aided by defensive indifference. By the time the rout had concluded, Potomac had established season records with 21 hits and 18 runs. Seven different players had multi-hit games, with three hits from Freeman, four hits from Harrison, and five from Masters.
The P-Nats conclude their weeklong road trip against Winston-Salem on Thursday as RHP Kyle Johnston faces off against LHP John Parke. The Potomac Broadcast will get underway at 6:45 a.m. with the P-Nats Leadoff Show before a scheduled 7:00 first pitch from BB&T Ballpark. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.
Share
Contributors
