CarL1 Potomac Nationals

P-Nats survive late rallies

Published on August 3, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


No one said it would be easy to repeat as Mills Cup champions and the Potomac Nationals certainly proved that to be true on Monday as they survived several scares in the late innings to hold off Frederick in a 5-3 victory from Harry Grove Stadium. Tom Milone won for the seventh time and Michael Martinez tallied two extra-base hits and drove in a pair to help Potomac maintain a two and a half game lead in the Northern Division.

Trent Jewett's club jumped out early against Keys starter Nathan Nery when Martinez led off the game with a double and took third base on a ground out by Danny Espinosa. With Dan Nelson batting in the 1st, Frederick catcher Caleb Joseph attempted to pick the P-Nats second baseman off of third but his snap throw sailed over the head of Brandon Waring and it allowed the speedy Martinez to jog home with the first run of the game.

Potomac stretched their lead to 3-0 in the 5th and once again it was Martinez at the center of attention. Following a double by Boomer Whiting down the third base line, the switch-hitting Dominican smacked a line drive over the fence in left for his second home run in his last five games to up the Nationals lead to three runs.

In the 6th stanza, Nery would put the first two runners aboard including a double to left-center by Jesus Valdez who had just been crowned the Carolina League Hitter of the Week prior to the game. Valdez's two-bagger raised his hitting streak to seven and it moved Chris Marrero to third with less than two outs. Nery then gave way to reliever Joe Esposito who proceeded to allow a one-out double off the bat of Nats catcher Devin Ivany that plated both Valdez and Marrero give the good guys a five-run cushion. The southpaw out of Stetson University dropped to 3-5 on the year after allowing five runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings pitched.

But Frederick, who entered the game a full six games behind the Nationals in the Northern Division, refused to let this one go without a fight. The Keys finally got to Milone in the bottom of the 6th when Tyler Henson laced a single with the bases loaded to pull Frederick to within four. But Henson was then picked off of first on a devastating pick-off move by the second-year lefthander and then Milone got Robbie Widlansky to foul out to end the rally.

The Keys struck back for two more in the 7th on run-scoring single by Pedro Florimon Jr. followed by a bases loaded walk to Caleb Joseph but Frederick's rally stalled again when Henson flew out to right with two outs, stranding the bases loaded against the Potomac bullpen. The relentless Keys had runners on first and second with one out in the 8th as well only to see Drew Storen pitch his way around the inherited baserunners and leave the home team empty handed once more.

Storen did allow a one out double to Waring with one out in the 9th and threw his first wild pitch with the P-Nats in the frame. But the Washington first round pick settled down and fanned by Joseph and Henson to end the game to earn his second save in the Carolina League.

Milone earned the victory having allowed just one run on six hits while striking out a half dozen in his 6.0 frames of work. Frederick was just 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base including eight over the final four innings on Monday.

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Carolina League Stories from August 3, 2009


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