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CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Potomac Nationals Game Notes

August 28, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


POTOMAC NATIONALS (37-23, 74-53) VS. KINSTON INDIANS (28-32, 55-73)

RHP Adam Carr (2-5, 5.13) vs. LHP Russell Young (5-6, 3.49)

August 28, 2009 -- 7:00 p.m.

Historic Grainger Stadium - Kinston, North Carolina

Game #128/Road #69

TODAY: The Potomac Nationals conclude their road schedule with a three-game series against the Kinston Indians from Historic Grainger Stadium. Game one begins at 7:00 p.m. with the P-Nats needing some help if they plan on defending their Mills Cup Championship. They still trail Wilmington by 2.5 games with only 10 more contests left on their schedule. The Rocks have won six in a row and begin a series tonight against Salem with a doubleheader from Lewis-Gale Field in Salem, Virginia. *The Blue Rocks' Magic Number for the Second Half Division title is down to 9.*

VS. THE INDIANS: The season series between the P-Nats (3.02) and the K-Tribe (3.55) has been dominated by tremendous pitching from both sides with Potomac holding a slight 7-5 edge coming into the weekend. Eight of the first 12 meetings were decided by two or fewer runs with the Nationals 4-2 against the Indians in one-run contests. With so many low scoring affairs, the offenses for both clubs have struggled with Potomac hitting just .240 against Kinston while the Tribe has managed just a .213 clip in a dozen games facing the Nats. Two notable batters for Kinston to watch in this series are Doug Pickens (.357, 5-for-14, HR, 2 RBI) and Ole Sheldon (5-for-15, 2 HR) who have both experienced success against the P-Nats pitching staff. Potomac was led offensively by Chris Marrero who hit .455 with 2 HR and 11 RBI in his 12 games against Kinston. Sadly, he won't be in the lineup this weekend and no other P-Nat has more than six RBIs in this season series with the K-Tribe.

TODAY'S OPPOSING STARTERS: LHP Russell Young, 23, was the 28th round selection of the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Dartmouth College. Young made his professional debut pitching for short season Mahoning Valley of the NY-Penn League where he went 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games (all starts) with the Scrappers. He ranked third in the league last season in games started and finished with 62 strikeouts while walking just 14 in 66.2 IP. He began the 2009 campaign with Low-A Lake County and made four appearances with the Captains going 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA.

The former Ivy Leaguer made his Carolina League debut against Lynchburg on May 1 and lasted 4.0 innings while surrendering seven earned runs on nine hits in an 8-3 loss to the Hillcats. After a slow start in which he was just 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA in his first six starts, Young has become one of the K-Tribe's most consistent starters. He's yielded just 17 ER total in his 11 appearances since the All-Star Break and has only walked nine batters compared to striking out 37 in the second half (a span of 69.0 innings pitched). Young has done well in two starts against Potomac only allowing two earned runs in 12.2 IP (1.42 ERA) but does not have a win to show for his efforts. He faced the P-Nats on May 18 and took a no-decision despite allowing no runs on seven hits while striking out three over 6.0 innings from Grainger Stadium. He was outdueled by Will Atwood and the Nats bullpen in a 1-0 victory for Potomac. He lost a similar one-run decision on July 18 from Pfitzner Stadium losing to Terrence Engles despite allowing two runs on four hits in 6.2 innings of work.

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