In series Game Two of a four-game road set, the Potomac Nationals (18-24 Overall, 8-14 Road) were buried by a six-run 4th inning on Saturday evening on TicketReturn.com Field inside Pelicans Ballpark and lost to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (26-14 Overall, 10-9 Home) 7-3.
Potomac is now a (7-4) club in their four-run contests during the 2015 season.
Pelicans 3B Jeimer Candelario submitted a two home run game to help lift the birds to their 26th overall victory this year.
Myrtle Beach starter, RHP Paul Blackburn (3-2) pitched to his third win by gunning through 6.0 innings and allowing just two runs, both earned, on six hits while walking one man and striking out five batters in the quality start.
Just as they did in the series opener, the P-Nats got out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI sacrifice flies in the 2nd stanza from 1B John Wooten to dead center field and RF Brandon Miller to the right field corner.
Potomac RHP Tyler Mapes, making a spot start, did not receive a decision but pitched well. Mapes went 3.0 innings and surrendered just one earned run on two hits without walking a batter and fanned a trio. Mapes retired his last five hitters in succession before exiting in advance of the 4th inning.
The crafty righty served up the first solo home run of the game for Candelario which was tomahawked over the right field fence in the bottom of the 2nd to get the Pelicans on the board.
All of the rest of the offense in the game occurred in the last of the fateful 4th against the red, white, and blue.
Against the losing pitcher of record, RHP Jake Johansen (1-3), Myrtle Beach brought 10 men to the plate in the 4th and used Candelario’s second solo bomb of the game to tie the affair at 2-2. The Candelario missile was yanked over the wall in the right field corner. Pelicans 1B Jacob Rogers singled into right field, C Victor Caratini walked, and SS Carlos Penalver blooped a single into shallow right field to load the bases before 2B Daniel Lockhart ripped an RBI single into left field the other way. Then, Myrtle Beach CF Trey Martin sprayed a two-run single into center field, DH Mark Zagunis struck out looking, and RF Pin-Chieh Chen blazed a two-RBI single into center field to propel the home club to a 7-2 advantage.
Johansen’s line included 2.0 innings of work, seven hits, six runs (all earned), two walks, three strikeouts, and one home run.
Myrtle Beach then used a combined 3.0 innings of relief work from RHP Josh Conway and RHP Zach Cates in which the pair allowed just one earned run on a total of one hit and one walk. The right-handed bullpen dealers struck out three P-Nats.
Conway allowed a long solo homer over the grandstands in left field to former Pelican-turned Potomac National 2B Christopher Bostick, who homered for the second straight game at his former home ballpark.
Nationals RHP Wander Suero, since moving to the bullpen, has not allowed a run in 8.1 consecutive innings after going 3.0 scoreless innings and surrendering just one hit, a single to Candelario, and one walk. Suero balked once and struck out three hitters.
Sunday evening at 6:05pm, the Nationals will clash with the Pelicans for series Game Three sending RHP Nick Pivetta (2-3, 1.60) to the bump to face off with Myrtle Beach RHP Tyler Skulina (1-4, 4.80).
The Potomac Nationals Baseball Network will carry live coverage of the game beginning with the “P-Nats Lead-Off Show” at 5:50pm before the live play-by-play at 6:05pm. P-Nats Gameday Audio on the Potomac Nationals Baseball Network is accessible at www.potomacnationals.com or with the TuneIn Radio App.
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Chris Graham
