Home P-Nats take series with 8-1 rout of Wilmington
Sports

P-Nats take series with 8-1 rout of Wilmington

p-natsThough a 23-pitch top of the first inning had the Potomac Nationals (44-37, 10-3) on the ropes and down 1-0, Potomac starter RHP Mark Blackmar (W, 1-0) settled into his 2016 Carolina League debut and allowed just one hit over seven strong innings. 2B Max Schrock tallied his eighth multi-hit game in 10 starts and extended his hit streak to 10 games, while 1B Jose Marmolejos homered for the second time in the series, all part of an 8-1 romp of the Wilmington Blue Rocks (32-52, 5-10) Thursday night.

Signed out of the Atlantic League by the Washington Nationals as a free agent just days ago, Blackmar returned to the Carolina League Thursday night and tossed a gem. The former farmhand of both the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox gave up a run on a two-out single by 3B Wander Franco in the top of the first inning but limited the damage and did not give up another hit in his outing. Despite three early walks and four walks overall, Blackmar pitched through seven innings and retired 11 of the final 12 batters that he faced in route to the victory.

Down 1-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, the Potomac offense finally got to LHP Foster Griffin (L, 1-5). The lefty had faced just one over the minimum through the first three frames, but the P-Nats sent eight men to the plate against him in a three-run fourth inning. Schrock extended his hit streak to 10 games with a leadoff single and SS Osvaldo Abreu followed with a double. With two on, Marmolejos tied the game with a sacrifice fly, while C Raudy Read followed with a walk. With men on the corners, DH Alec Keller provided a successful safety squeeze, which plated Abreu and made it 2-1. Two batters later, LF Dale Carey made it 3-1 with Potomac’s second sacrifice fly of the inning.

Things got worse for Griffin in the fifth inning, as he faced four batters and did not record an out. Three straight singles opened the inning, as CF Victor Robles and Schrock each had a base hit, while Abreu tallied an RBI with a single. With two men on, Marmolejos tucked a long fly ball just inside the right field foul pole for a three-run home run. Marmolejos’ 10th home run of the season made it 7-1 and knocked Griffin out of the game. LHP Brennan Henry came in and loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks. 3B David Masters fell behind in the count 1-2 with the bases loaded, but Henry hit Masters with a pitch, which plated Keller and made it 8-1 Potomac, the eventual final. Henry settled down and allowed just one run over three innings. Griffin meanwhile went four+ innings and gave up seven earned runs on eight hits.

Potomac’s offense went quietly through the final third of the game vs. Henry and RHP Jake Newberry, whileRHP Wirkin Estevez pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Blackmar for Potomac. Estevez gave up two hits and walked a batter but did not yield a run for the second consecutive outing.

In the victory, seven different Potomac hitters had at least one hit while all nine starters reached base at least once. Marmolejos’ home run extended his hit streak to five games, while Potomac tallied its third consecutive win over the Blue Rocks and 14th win in 18 meetings in 2016.

Halfway through their longest home series of the season, the P-Nats will welcome in the Carolina Mudcats for a four game series. Friday night, Potomac will turn to RHP Erick Fedde (4-3, 4.42). Fedde went just one inning in his last start, as a 90-minute rain delay in Myrtle Beach cut his night short. The righty allowed two earned runs over 6.1 innings in his lone start, a no-decision, vs. Carolina this season. For the Mudcats, RHP Enderson Franco (5-5, 4.43) is scheduled to start in the series opener. Franco has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four starts and is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts vs. the P-Nats in 2016. First pitch is set for 7:05pmFriday night at Pfitzner Stadium.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.