CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Nationals Game Notes August 3rd

August 3, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


TODAY: The Potomac Nationals will take a short 72-hour break from their longest remaining homestand of season when they play the Frederick Keys in a three-game series from Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, Maryland. The Keys remain in the hunt for playoff spot in the Northern Division but can't afford to lose too much more ground as they begin this series a full six games behind Potomac for first place. Trent Jewett's club leads this "Battle of the Beltway" 10-4 with the P-Nats victorious in eight of the last 10 meetings.

JESUS SAVES: For the third straight week, the Carolina League Hitter of the Week resides in the Potomac Nationals lineup as Jesus Valdez follows Chris Marrero and Dan Nelson as the most recent recipient of the weekly honor for July 27-August 2. Last week, the Dominican outfielder went 13-for-23 (.565) with five doubles, six runs scored, three RBIs and a slugging percentage of .783. He's hit in six straight games, five of which were multiple-hit contests and in so doing, "Zeus" raised his batting average from .277 to .309. Since returning from the disabled list on July 7, Valdez is hitting at a .333 clip hitting seven doubles, scoring 15 runs and driving in 10 while primarily batting 6th in the batting order.

TODAY'S OPPOSING STARTER: LHP Nate Nery, 23, was drafted in the 18th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles out of Stetson University (FL). He pitched three seasons for Stetson and while playing for the Hatters in 2006, Nery went 7-5 with a 4.53 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. The southpaw out of Moon Township, PA has pitched the previous three seasons for both Aberdeen (NYPL) and Delmarva (SAL) and compiled a record of 15-11 with a 4.05 ERA. Last season with the Delmarva Shorebirds, Nery went 7-3 in 15 starts and was nearly flawless down the stretch closing out the year with a 4-0 record and a 1.18 ERA in his last five starts.

Tonight will be the third time Nery has faced the P-Nats in 2009. In two starts, Nery is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA including 10 strikeouts as opposed to five walks in 12.2 IP. Potomac's first encounter with the left-hander took place from Harry Grove Stadium on June 14 when Nery allowed four runs on eight hits in 6.2 IP -- a game eventually won by the P-Nats 5-4 in 10 innings on a solo homer by Sean Rooney. Nery's second helping ended much better for the Keys' starter who tossed 6.0 shutout innings from Pfitzner Stadium holding the Nats to just one hit in a 2-0 blanking of Potomac on July 2. Going in Potomac's favor tonight is the fact that Nery is winless in his nine starts from Frederick going 0-2 with a 5.16 ERA (26ER/45.1IP) including five of his six HR's allowed.

Check out the Potomac Nationals Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 3, 2009


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