CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Nationals Prepare for 6:05 Tilt Versus Salem

Published on July 26, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


TODAY: The weekend clash of division leaders will come to an end this evening as the Potomac Nationals battle the Salem Red Sox in a rubber game from Lewis-Gale Field beginning at 6:05 p.m. The P-Nats still own a 4.5 game lead over Frederick and Wilmington for the second playoff spot in the Northern Division entering play today while the Red Sox still sitting pretty atop the Southern Division with a 2.5 game cushion over the Winston-Salem Dash. With a win tonight, the P-Nats will have series victories in all three trips they made to Salem Memorial Ballpark during the 2009 regular season.

Potomac leads the season-series 9-6 including a 7-2 mark from Salem Memorial Ballpark which makes sense when you consider that the P-Nats have a league-best 33-20 record away from Woodbridge this year. The Red Sox have won four of six meetings with Trent Jewett's club from Pfitzner Stadium but are trailing in this series despite holding the P-Nats bats to a .229 batting average in 15 games. Chris Marrero (.175), Michael Burgess (.172) and Francisco Plasencia (.229) have shared their lumps against "Red Sox Nation" who have outscored Potomac 72-67 in the season-series.

TODAY'S OPPOSING STARTER: RHP Bryan Price, 23, was the sandwich pick (45th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 Draft out of Rice University. Born in Bayfield, Colorado, Price went 4-4 with a 3.72 ERA in a team-high 30 appearances (one start) in his junior season with Rice. The Owls finished 47-15 that season and advanced to the College World Series that year. In parts of three seasons at Rice, Price struck out 76 batters in 65.2 IP and really blossomed as a setup man in his third year. His pro career commenced with Short-Season Lowell last year where he went 1-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 12 games, including nine starts. He struck out 43 men in 40 IP with the Spinners and started the 2009 campaign hurling for Low-A Greenville. He was 3-2 with the Drive and held lefties to just a .154 clip in his eight starts prior to being called up to Salem on May 26.

Price has struggled out of the gate at the Advanced-A level going 0-2 with a 9.95 in five starts prior to the All-Star Break. Opponents hit .345 against Price during that span and the righty had to wait until his seventh appearance with Salem before notching his first win. While he's shown improvement in the second half (1-4, 4.76 ERA, .248 BAA), Price has still allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his 10 appearances with the Sox in ‘09. A slow starter, Price has an ERA of 6.75 in the first two innings of his starts.

Check out the Potomac Nationals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Carolina League Stories from July 26, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central