CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Potomac Nationals Game Notes

Published on August 24, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


POTOMAC NATIONALS (33-28, 75-56) VS. LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (24-37, 53-78)

LHP ROSS DETWILER (7-8, 4.84) VS. LHP BRIAN HOLLIDAY (5-10, 5.23)

August 24, 2008 -- 6:05 p.m.

G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium

Game #132/Home #67

Internet Webcast -- www.potomacnationals.com

TONIGHT: The Potomac Nationals and Lynchburg Hillcats meet in the finale of a three-game series...The P-Nats have dropped the first two games of the series, getting thumped 13-5 in last night's contest..Potomac enters today 2.5 games ahead of Wilmington atop the Carolina League Northern Division.

TONIGHT'S STARTER: The Potomac Nationals send left-hander Ross Detwiler to the mound trying to avoid the sweep against the Hillcats...The former first-round pick went 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his last go-round against the Kinston Indians, allowing five hits while striking out four and walking just one...He missed his scheduled start at Winston-Salem on August 8 with a strained muscle in his shoulder...The 22-year-old earned his first win since helping the P-Nats clinch the first-half Northern Division title on June 9 with a victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks on July 29 when he tossed six innings and gave up just one run on six hits while striking out six and walking one...During his winless drought, Detwiler went 0-4 with three no-decisions over seven starts, allowing 24 runs, 20 earned, on 42 hits while striking out 26 and walking 14 in 36 innings (5.00 ERA)...He has faired better on the road than at home, going 3-3 with a 3.77 ERA in ten starts on the road as opposed to a 4-5 mark with a 5.56 ERA in 14 outings at home...Over his last four outings, Detwiler has given up just seven runs, six earned, on 22 hits in 22 1/3 innings while striking out 23 and walking only five (2.42 ERA)....The lefty is 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA in two starts against Lynchburg this season...He gave up six runs on nine hits in a loss at City Stadium on June 4 and allowed two runs on four hits in five innings against the Cats at Pfitzner Stadium on July 19.

STILL STANDING TALL: The Potomac Nationals have only spent two days were they were not in or had a share of the division lead since moving to the top spot on April 10...Potomac had a string of 91 straight days in first place snapped with a 4-1 loss to Wilmington on July 9...Last season the Nationals spent 31 consecutive days in first from April 5 through May 5...The P-Nats ended the first half in last place, 10 games under .500 and only saw first place for one day, June 21, after May 5.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?: The Potomac Nationals magic number to clinch the second half Northern Division title is at seven...Any combination of Potomac wins and Wilmington losses would net the P-Nats the half title...The Nationals are trying to become the first team in the 31-year history of the franchise to win both halves.

LAST LAUGH FOR LAST PLACE: The Potomac Nationals have had trouble with the two teams they're facing during the final seven-game regular season homestand, Lynchburg and Salem...The P-Nats are just 18-17 against the cellar dwellers in the Northern and Southern Divisions and have lost four straight the Hillcats by a combined score of 35-12...Against the teams with the three worst overall records for the season (Frederick, Salem and Lynchburg), Potomac is a combined 27-28...Meanwhile, against the other four teams in the league, the Nationals are 48-28.

SWEEPLESS IN WOODBRIDGE?: The Potomac Nationals are currently the only team in the Carolina League to have not been swept this season...The club has swept every team in the league except Salem.

HUMBLING HIT STREAK: Michael Martinez has hits in seven straight games entering play tonight...The 25-year-old has notched a single hit in each of his last seven contests and is hitting just .226 over the streak (7-for-31)...The Dominican has driven in four runs and scored three while striking out six times and walking just twice...Ironically, is batting average has slipped from .275 to .271 over that span.

EYE ON 80: With Wednesday night's win, the Potomac Nationals matched the 1984 Prince William Pirates for second-most wins in a single season...On August 12 the P-Nats became just the eighth team in the 31-year history of the Alexandria/Prince William/Potomac franchise to win at least 70 games...The last time the franchise netted at least 70 wins was 1998 when it was still known as the Prince William Cannons...The win marked the first time the franchise won 70 games in a season since changing its name to Potomac in 1999...The most wins in a season came in 1982 when the Alexandria Dukes won 80 games.

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Carolina League Stories from August 24, 2008


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