The Salem Red Sox saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Potomac Nationals, 10-3, on Tuesday night at Pfitzner Stadium.
Salem (78-48, 35-22) grabbed an early 2-0 run lead in the contest thanks to an error by Potomac (68-58, 34-24). With the bases loaded and nobody out in the second, Jordan Procyshen hit a comebacker to the mound that Matthew Crownover threw home for the first out. The catcher, Raudy Read, then threw wildly to first, allowing two runs to come in on the throwing error.
The Nationals responded with authority, though, scoring the next 10 runs in the game. The rally began with two outs in the third thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Max Schrock and Osvaldo Abreu that evened the game at two. With the bags packed after an intentional walk, Austin Davidson skied a ball to left field that Mike Meyers lost in the twilight, causing the ball to fall and leading to a three-run double.
Daniel McGrath was on the wrong end of the bad break, and was pulled from the game after walking the first two hitters in the fourth inning. Both came around to score later in the frame, one on a Victor Robles sacrifice fly, the other on a Schrock single. McGrath (7-6) was charged with seven runs (six earned) on three hits and five walks in three-plus innings.
Mario Alcantara tossed three innings out of the bullpen, allowing only a solo homer to Drew Vettleson in the last of the sixth, which grew the Potomac advantage to 8-2. It was the first long ball allowed by Alcantara all season.
The Nationals would tack on two more runs in the seventh against Jeffry Fernandex, which was more than enough for Crownover (4-4). The southpaw lasted seven frames for Potomac, yielding two unearned runs on three hits while sprinkling in seven strikeouts.
Salem was able to scratch across a run in the eighth when Deiner Lopez tripled and scored on a Joseph Monge groundout. The Red Sox managed just five hits in the contest, two of which came from Jose Sermo, who finished 2-for-4.
The three-game series continues on Wednesday night at 7:05 pm. Michael Kopech (3-1, 1.42) toes the rubber for Salem against Potomac’s Austen Williams (4-4, 4.02). Follow along with all the action on the Salem Red Sox Baseball Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:45 pm.
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