CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Milone Masterful as P-Nats Pound Pelicans

Published on July 7, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


MYRTLE BEACH, SC- The last time Tom Milone earned a Carolina League victory, it happened at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach way back on May 15. In that contest, Milone was masterful, tossing eight shutout frames while striking out seven in the P-Nats' 4-0 victory. Since then, it has been a series of no decisions with Milone pitching well enough to win more than a handful of those starts, but finding hard luck at the end of the day.

In Tuesday's series opener with the Pelicans, the Southern California southpaw tossed seven innings of one run baseball, striking out three and allowing seven hits. The P-Nats would provide him plenty of support to make this game a rout in the late innings, taking game one in Myrtle Beach, 10-1.

Milone (4-3) picked up his first victory since May 15 by using a great mix of fastballs and breaking pitches, using his deadly changeup and looping curveball to keep the Pelicans off-balance all night long.

Myrtle Beach starter Cole Rohrbough, however, was a different story. The prospect Rohrbough (4-5) walked the first three men he faced in the first inning, and Michael Burgess followed with an RBI single to left to put the P-Nats on the board, 1-0. With the bases still loaded, but now two outs in the frame, Francisco Plasencia laced a two-run single to right field to push the Potomac lead to 3-0.

The single also extended Plasencia's league-leading hitting streak to 14 games.

A Robert Marcial RBI single to center in the second inning would give the Pelicans the only offense they would muster against Potomac pitching in this game, as Milone would shut down the Pelican attack, retiring 11 batters in a row at one point.

The Potomac offense would notch double digit runs in a win for the first time since June 12 when they knocked around the Frederick Keys in a 10-3 blowout. Burgess would have a big day, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI, and Danny Espinosa would knock a pair of doubles to give him an even 20 on the season.

The series opener also brought the return of Jesus Valdez, on the disabled list since May 23. "Zeus" came back with guns blazing, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

The P-Nats would put the game away late with a run in the seventh and three more in the eighth to push the lead to 10-1.

The defense also showed no ill effects from the seven-hour bus ride down the Myrtle Beach, playing error-free baseball while turning three double plays in the contest.

Chris Rivera pitched a flawless final two frames to finish out the ballgame.

These two teams will be right back at it Wednesday night with first pitch slated for 7:05 ET. You can catch all the action live on www.potomacnationals.com with Dan McGinn and Anthony Masterson starting with the pregame show at 6:45 ET.

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Carolina League Stories from July 7, 2009


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