The Potomac Nationals came two outs away from their first no-hitter in franchise history in a 9-0 shutout of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Pfitzner Stadium. With one out in the top of the ninth, Pelicans’ second baseman Edwin Garcia lined a sharp single into centerfield off Neil Holland to spoil the no-hit bid.
Nathan Karns (6-2) pitched six hitless innings for the victory with the only base runner reaching on a fielding error in the second inning. He has won three straight starts and hasn’t lost since June 9th. Jimmy Barthmaier came on in relief of Karns and threw two perfect innings out of the bullpen. Despite allowing the one-out hit in the ninth, Holland retired the next to batters to secure Potomac’s fifth shutout of the season.
The other big news from the game was the appearance of Washington Nationals’ outfielder Jayson Werth playing in his first game on rehab assignment. Currently on the 60-day DL rehabbing a broken left wrist, Werth was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in four plate appearances. He was removed from the game after playing six innings in right field.
Ricky Hague gave the Nationals the lead at 2-0 in the bottom of the first lining a two-out, two run double that scored Chad Tracy and David Freitas.
The P-Nats doubled their advantage in the second inning with two more runs off Randol Rojas. Stephen King led off with a single and moved up to second on a single by Michael Taylor. King came into score on an RBI single by Tracy to put the Nationals on top 3-0. Werth followed his fellow rehabber with a clean single into left-center field that scored Taylor for a 4-0 lead.
After threatening to score more runs in the third and fourth innings, Potomac finally broke through again in the sixth. King led off with a double and Taylor’s fourth hit of the game brought him in with an RBI single. Two batters later with the bases loaded, Freitas cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left field line to blow the game open at 8-0.
Rojas (8-2) was chased from the game after five and one third innings allowing a season-high eight runs and thirteen hits. He suffered his first loss since June 29th.
Taylor’s incredible night continued in the eighth inning as he homered for the second consecutive game with a solo shot to increase the lead to 9-0. Taylor is 8-for-10 in the first two games of this series.
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Chris Graham
