Potomac (34-39-Overall, 19-17-Home, 1-2-Second Half) broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth against the Carolina Mudcats (37-36-Overall, 14-20-Road, 3-1-Second Half), scoring two runs and holding on for the 3-1 win in the series opener at The Pfitz on Sunday night.
RHP Phillips Valdez (2-2, 5.34) made his sixth start of the season and second consecutive against the Carolina Mudcats. Valdez had his best outing in a P-Nats uniform tying a Potomac season high with six solids innings and allowing one run (earned) on four hits, he did not allow a walk and tied a season high with six strikeouts in the win.
Valdez had four strikeouts through the first three innings of the ballgame that went scoreless through the first three innings.
LF Dustin Peterson led-off the fourth with a two-bagger and after 1B Jacob Schrader was hit by a pitch, 3B Carlos Franco hit into a double play that moved Peterson to third base with two outs. Valdez then delivered a wild pitch that allowed Peterson to scamper home for Carolina’s only run of the game and a 1-0 lead.
RHP Seth Webster (3-4, 2.96) made his seventh start of the season and third against Potomac in 2015. Webster held Potomac scoreless through four innings on three hits, including inducing two double play balls to end rallies but ultimately took the loss for his seven innings of work allowing three runs (all earned) on 10 hits and a strikeout, issuing no walks.
In the bottom of the fifth with two outs RF Brandon Miller singled to get aboard. 2B Adrian Sanchez, who is now on a five-game hitting streak, then doubled and Miller got the wheel from third base. The left fielder Peterson threw into Franco allowing Miller to score the tying run. On the play Sanchez got hung up in the base paths and was tagged out by Franco to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth Potomac took the lead for good with one out when 1B Jimmy Yezzo doubled and moved to third on CF Narciso Mesa’ssingle, Mesa then swiped second and SS Stephen Perez on a 3-2 pitch lofted a ball into centerfield that got Yezzo home form third for a 2-1 P-Nats lead. The next batter, 1B John Wooten doubled home Mesa for the insurance run and a 3-1 lead.
RHP Wander Suero entered the game in the seventh and pitched two scoreless frames, giving up one hit and adding two strikeouts.
RHP Justin Jackson pitched the eighth for Carolina allowing a hit and a walk but stranding both P-Nats on the base paths heading to the ninth.
LHP Nick Lee (SV 9) came in for the ninth and faced five men, allowing a hit and a walk but inking his ninth save of the season stranding two on the base paths and securing the 3-1 win.
Potomac will now attempt to win the series tomorrow night against Carolina in Game Two at the Pfitz and improves to 9-3 against Carolina on the season.
Tomorrow night sets RHP John Simms (3-5, 3.79) for Potomac against RHP Max Povse (0-0, 0.00), who’s making his first Carolina League start.
Tomorrow night is Dollar Monday at The Pfitz, including dollar hotdogs and dollar GA tickets for the game.
First pitch in Game Two is set for 7:05 pm and you can listen starting at 6:50 pm starting with the “P-Nats Lead-Off Show” and you can listen live via the TuneIn Radio App or at www.potomacnationals.com.
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