Last Night In Woodbridge

  By Luke Erickson | May 2, 2012 - 8:47 am | Last Night In Woodbridge
3 Comments

It’s one thing to keep the ball in the yard, but quite another to keep it out of the gaps. With nine extra-base hits out of 17 total, the Winston-Salem Dash pummeled the Potomac Nationals by a 15-6 count, taking their ninth straight win — six against the P-Nats.

The start for Matt Grace was similar to his previous against the Dash in Winston-Salem: Hit hard early, then settling down. But it wasn’t until the fifth batter that Grace got an out and there wasn’t much doubt about either double.

The two-bagger has been problematic for Grace all year long — all ten surrendered have come in the last three games. Yes, they’ve been given up to the league’s #1 and #2 offenses, but the 17 other hits in just 18⅓ IP isn’t exactly stellar. Throw in nine walks, and you’ve got a WHIP that’s just a hair shy of 2.00 (1.964) — if anything it’s a testament to both him and the Potomac defense that his 7.36 ERA isn’t higher.

Despite the 15-6 beatdown, there were some bright spots…

…Rick Hague made his first start at SS and made his first throw with no signs of a bum shoulder, a strong and accurate throw from about 8 feet “northwest” of second base.

…Offensively, Hague ripped a double to left and steered a single to right and drove in the first Potomac run with a sacrifice fly

…David Freitas followed the Hague double with a two-run blast over the left-field wall as part of a three-run 6th in which Potomac pulled within two at 7-5

…Potomac scored three times on “run-scoring flyballs” — perhaps an aberration, maybe just luck, but it’s still better than a strikeout (nine more last night brought the season total to 201, which is 2nd worst in the C.L.)

As aforementioned, the P-Nats were as close as 7-5 after six full innings but a six-run seventh put the game away for Winston-Salem Dash, aided by the ignominy of three hit batsmen (two that “Homer Simpsoned” runs in) and a bases-loaded walk.

With the loss, Potomac takes sole possession of last place, 5½ games off the pace. The series continues tonight with Adam Olbrychowski (0-3, 7.29) scheduled to pitch against Jake Petricka (2-2, 5.50).

Wednesday’s News & Notes

  By Luke Erickson | May 2, 2012 - 8:47 am | News and Notes
6 Comments
Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Won, 8-0 @ Buffalo,
6:05 p.m.		 Arnesen (1-0, 0.64) vs.
Harvey (2-1, 4.85)
Harrisburg Lost, 6-1
(12 inn.)		 vs. New Britain,
7:00 p.m.		 Ballard (0-1, 3.60) vs.
Albers (1-0, 3.81)
Potomac Lost, 15-6 vs. Winston-Salem,
7:05 p.m.		 Olbrychowski (0-3, 7.29) vs.
Petricka (2-2, 5.50)
Hagerstown OFF DAY vs. Rome,
7:05 p.m.		 TBD vs.
Briceno (2-1, 3.42)

Syracuse 8 Buffalo 0
• Duke (W, 2-1) 7IP, 3H, 0R, 3BB, 5K
• Bibens-Dirkx 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Rivero 3-5, 3R, 2B, E
• Hoffpauir 3-5, 2R, 2B, RBI
• Michaels 2-4, 2RBI

The hits keep coming for the Syracuse Chiefs, rapping out 14 in an 8-0 romp over the Charlotte Knights. Zach Duke got the win with seven shutout innings, with just three hits and three walks allowed. Austin Bibens-Dirkx closed them out with two more goose eggs, with just one hit given up. Carlos Rivero and Jarrett Hoffpauir both went 3-for-5 with a double, while Jason Michaels went 2-for-4 with 2RBI.

New Britain 5 Harrisburg 1 (12 inn.)
• Gilliam 7IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 9K
• Tatusko 3IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Kobernus 2-5, R, 2B
• Rahl 2-5, 2B
• Perez 2-5

The 12th inning is not the friend of the Senators as the Rock Cats won again in 12 by a 6-1 score in Harrisburg. A throwing error, a balk, and hit batsmen by Hector Nelo didn’t help matters as New Britain scored five runs on four hits in the top of the 12th. Starter Rob Gilliam went the the first seven innings and allowed just a run on three hits and three walks while fanning nine. Ryan Tatusko’s second outing was a strong three scoreless with four K’s. Jeff Kobernus and Chris Rahl both went 2-for-5 with a double to lead the Sens offense.

Winston-Salem 15 Potomac 6
• Grace (L, 1-3) 4IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 3K
• Eusebio ⅓ IP, 3H, 6R, 6ER, BB, K, 3HBP
• Freitas 3-5, R, HR, 2RB
• Moore 3-4, R, HR, RBI, SB
• Hague 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB

Winston-Salem broke open a 7-5 lead with a six-run 7th and cruised to a win Last Night In Woodbridge.

HAGERSTOWN — OFF DAY

The Suns went 4-3 on their Georgia swing, and rematch against the Rome Braves and Augusta GreenJackets over the next seven games at home.

Tuesday’s News & Notes

  By Luke Erickson | May 1, 2012 - 8:20 am | News and Notes
21 Comments
Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Won, 12-4 @ Buffalo,
6:05 p.m.		 Duke (1-1, 5.57) vs.
Harvey (2-1, 4.85)
Harrisburg Lost, 1-0
(12 inn.)		 vs. New Britain,
7:00 p.m.		 Gilliam (1-3, 6.00) vs.
BJ Hermsen (AA debut)
Potomac Lost, 10-5 vs. Winston-Salem,
7:05 p.m.		 Grace (1-2, 7.53) vs.
Heidenreich (1-1, 4.88)
Hagerstown Lost, 7-1 OFF DAY n/a

Syracuse 12 Charlotte 4
• Lannan (W, 2-2) 7IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, BB, 6K
• Lehman 2IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 0K, 0HR
• Johnson 3-5, 2R, SB
• Maldonado 3-5, 2B, RBI
• Hoffpauir 2-5, R, BB, 3RBI

Let the trade blather chatter begin as John Lannan turned in another strong outing with just one run allowed on four hits over seven innings as the Chiefs tripled up the Knights, 12-4. Of course a five-run 1st and six-run 3rd gave him plenty o’ support, as the Chiefs broke into double digits for just the second time this season. Josh Johnson and Carlos Maldonado both went 3-for-5 as Syracuse collected 15 hits total, and made Charlotte pay for walking nine and a sieve-like seven errors on defense. Pat Lehman was roughed up for three runs on five hits over the last two frames in his AAA debut. Jim Negrych went 1-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI, and two BB.

New Britain 1 Harrisburg 0 (12 inn.)
• Rosenbaum 7IP, 6H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Davis (L, 3-1) 2⅔ IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, BB, 3K
• Pahuta 1-4, 3B, BB
• Leon 1-3

The breeze was going both ways in Harrisburg last night — 10 mph in, and 16K out — as the Senators fell 1-0 in 12 innings to the Rock Cats. Harrisburg managed just two hits: A leadoff single in the 5th by Sandy Leon and a leadoff triple by Tim Pahuta in the 7th. Neither man was advanced a base as New Britain pitchers struck out the next batter and then retired the side. Danny Rosenbaum was brilliant once again, posting his third straight start without an earned run to lower his ERA to 0.76. With no walks for the fourth time in five starts, his FIP fell to 1.80. Erik Davis took the loss in his third inninf of relief by giving up two infield singles with a stolen base in between, with the gamewinner coming across on a wild pitch.

Winston-Salem 10 Potomac 5
• Winters (L, 1-3) 4⅓ IP, 9H, 5R, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, 3HR
• McCatty 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 1-0 IR-S
• Freitas 3-4, R
• Hague 2-4, R, 2K
• Kelso 2-5, R

Make that five wins in five games for Winston-Salem, as the Dash smacked five HRs in a 10-5 win over Potomac. Kyle Winters gave up three solo shots in four and a 1/3rd innings to take the loss. Shane McCatty stopped the bleeding and got the next four outs, including two strikeouts. Michael Taylor drove in the first three P-Nat runs with two-out triple in the 6th, to lead the RBI column while David Freitas led the hit column with a 3-for-4 night. Down just 5-3, the Potomac bullpen couldn’t match McCatty’s effort, giving up five more runs to send Potomac back to fourth place in the C.L. North.

Augusta 7 Hagerstown 1
• Hill (L, 3-1) 4IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K, WP
• Karns 3IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 8K, WP
• Dykstra 1-4, R (9-game hit streak)
• Burns 1-4 (15-game on-base streak)
• Skole 1-4, RBI, 2E (5,6)

The GreenJackets took the rubber game of the three-game series with a 7-1 shellacking of the Suns. Taylor Hill posted just one scoreless inning out of four, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks. Nathan Karns struck out eight of the 11 batters he faced, but gave up an unearned run on an error and a wild pitch. Hagerstown collected just seven hits total, with Cutter Dykstra and Billy Burns extending their hit and on-base streaks to nine and 15 respectively. Matt Skole drove in the sole run to keep the Sally League lead at 31, but committed his fifth and sixth errors in 21 games at 3B. The Suns return to the Muni for seven games beginning tomorrow with three against Rome, then four against Augusta.

Ripple Effects From The Harper, Moore Promotions

  By Luke Erickson | April 30, 2012 - 3:24 pm | Transactions
4 Comments

While it’s never as quick as we want, the effects from the promotions of Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore are starting to become apparent. To be clear, there isn’t necessarily or always a 1:1 relationship to roster moves. But for the sakes of clarity and explanation, it’s simply easier to presume one:

SYRACUSE → WASHINGTON
• OF Bryce Harper replaces 3B Ryan Zimmerman, 15-Day DL (eligible to be activated May 6)
• 1B-OF Tyler Moore replaces IF-OF Mark DeRosa, 15-Day DL (eligible to be activated May 13)
• RHP Ryan Perry replaces RHP Brad Lidge, 15-Day DL (eligible to be activated May 7)

HARRISBURG → SYRACUSE
• RHP Pat Lehman replaces Perry
• IF Jim Negrych replaces Moore

POTOMAC → HARRISBURG
• IF Sean Nicol replaces Negrych

EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING → HARRISBURG
• RHP Ryan Tatusko replaces Lehman

EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING → POTOMAC
• SS Rick Hague replaces Nicol

Currently, the Syracuse roster is one short of the 25-man limit, which is a new development this year for AA and AAA and may help explain why there’s been no “rush” to make moves.

As reported in the News & Notes the past couple of days, C Jhonatan Solano is eligible to come off the DL but has not yet been activated. OF Xavier Paul is still on the Restricted List and (presumably) is also a candidate. Speculation in the comments that Moore could be returned once Zimmerman is reactivated next weekend is certainly a viable hypothesis.

Finally, as we’ve seen from the large contingency in Viera/Auburn — and several of the moves made on the Hagerstown roster this month — there are also plenty of options for the Nationals to rotate players on and off rosters. We can’t help but guess the next move or pound the drum for a promotion, but the past three days ought to remind us that we’ll probably be wrong more often than not and surprised just as much.

Monday’s News & Notes

  By Luke Erickson | April 30, 2012 - 8:36 am | News and Notes, Transactions
7 Comments
Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 5-2 vs. Charlotte,
6:00 p.m.		 Lannan (1-2, 6.63) vs.
Doyle (1-1, 3.63)
Harrisburg Lost, 8-7 vs. New Britain,
7:00 p.m.		 Rosenbaum (3-0, 0.94) vs.
Bromberg (0-0, 12.86)
Potomac Won, 2-1 vs. Winston-Salem,
7:05 p.m.		 Winters (1-2, 5.24) vs.
Ryan Buch (1-1, 4.76)
Hagerstown Lost, 2-0 @ Augusta,
7:05 p.m.		 Hill (3-0, 2.25) vs.
Davis (1-0, 3.00)

Charlotte 5 Syracuse 2
• Maya (L, 1-3) 7IP, 8H, 5R, 5ER, BB, K, 2HR
• VanAllen 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Rivero 2-4, R, HR, RBI
• Hoffpauir 2-4, RBI

The home run is quickly becoming Yunesky Maya’s worst enemy, as the 30-year-old Cuban gave up two more in a 5-2 Syracuse loss to Charlotte. Maya gave up nos. 3 and 4 in his fifth start, accounting for three of the five runs he was charged with in this start, and nine of the 13 he’s allowed this season. Carlos Rivero and Jarrett Hoffpauir both went 2-for-4 in the loss, with Rivero connecting for his first HR of the season. IF Jim Negrych was assigned to the Chiefs roster to take the place of Tyler Moore, who went 1-for-3 in his big-league debut in Los Angeles, but there’s still a roster spot open after the promotions of Bryce Harper and Ryan Perry on Friday.

Bowie 8 Harrisburg 7
• Mandel (ND) 5⅔ IP, 10H, 6R, 6ER, 2BB, 4K, HR
• Nelo 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Valdez 4-5, 3R, OF assist at HP
• Rahl 2-4, R, BB, RBI, SB
• King 2-5, R, 4RBI, SB

Harrisburg blew leads of 3-1, 5-3, and 7-5 before succumbing to the Bowie onslaught by an 8-7 count. Jeff Mandel took his first serious beating of the season, giving up six runs on 10 hits and two walks. Harrisburg was a respectable 6-for-16 with RISP with 10 runners left on, but four of them came in the final three innings, as the BaySox ‘pen held the Sens to no runs over the last four and 2/3rds innings. Patriot-News beat writer Geoff Morrow notes reports that a move to replace Negrych on the Harrisburg roster is not expected soon. When it comes, though, read his account via Doug Harris about how “punking” is a part of the Nationals promotion process.

Potomac 2 Myrtle Beach 1
• Swynenberg (W, 2-1) 9IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 3K
• Kelso 1-3, RBI, SAC
• Keyes 1-3, 2B, OF assist (2B)
• Walters 0-3, SF, RBI

Matt Swynenberg needed just 94 pitches to complete the game on a Sunday Afternoon In Woodbridge

Augusta 2 Hagerstown 0
• Meyer (l, 1-3) 5⅔ IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 8K
• Meza 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 2K, 1-0 IR-S
• Dykstra 2-4, BB, SB
• Souza 1-3, 2B, BB
• Burns 0-3, 2BB

Alex Meyer pitched into the 6th for the first time this season, but couldn’t get the “W” as the GreenJacket pitchers limited the Suns batters to just four hits in a 2-0 Hagerstown loss to Augusta. Meyer walked just two and struck out eight but gave up both runs on seven hits. The Suns best chance to score came in the third when Cutter Dykstra and Billy Burns drew back-to-back walks, then executed a double steal. The next three batters went down by way of the K, as the Suns would strand 12 runners total while going 0-for-12 with RISP.

Sunday Afternoon In Woodbridge

  By Luke Erickson | April 29, 2012 - 4:45 pm | Sunday Afternoon In Woodbridge
2 Comments

There’s a fascination with velocity when it comes to pitching, as nearly inquiry here includes some variation of “how fast does he throw?”

On Sunday, Matt Swynenberg reminded us that sometimes keeping batters off-balance is just as important.

The 23-year-old needed just 94 pitches to retire 27 of 30 batters in tossing a three-hit, one-run complete game as the P-Nats took the rubber game of the series by a 2-1 margin.

Swynenberg got 12 batters out on the ground and 12 out in the air, but seven of those came to the opposite field or on a popup. Essentially, the only three balls that were truly well-struck produced the run and the three hits. From the second inning to the ninth, Swynenberg retired 19 straight batters before walking the #9 batter Josh Richmond to lead off the 9th.

He picked the right time to pitch so well, as the Pelican’s Roman Mendez was nearly as good. Like Swynenberg, he got weak contact with a half-dozen or so popups. Unlike Swynenberg, he got it done more with the strikeout — nine total, with Justin Bloxom as his favorite victim (0-for-3, 3Ks). He would finish with both Potomac runs allowed on four hits and three walks.

Myrtle Beach drew first blood in the top of the 2nd, as Yefry Castillo singled in Brett Nicholas with one, who had doubled to lead off the inning, but Castillo hesitated on Kevin Keyes’ throw to the plate, and backup backstop Beau Seabury made him pay for the mistake, drifting from the plate forward and firing to Francisco Soriano who relayed to Sean Nicol to nail him for the inning’s second out.

Potomac would tie the game on two ugly singles to shallow right field in the bottom of the 3rd, with Sean Nicol scoring on Blake Kelso’s two-out flare.

The gamewinner came without a base hit, as Soriano led off with a walk, took second on a wild pitch, third on a sacrifice bunt by Kelso, and scored on a deep flyball from Zach Walters.

The ten-game homestand continues with a four-game set against Winston-Salem, with Kyle Winters (1-2, 5.24) rematching against the Dash’s Ryan Buch (1-1, 4.76).

Tyler Moore Is Going To Make It After All

  By Luke Erickson | April 29, 2012 - 10:41 am | News and Notes, Transactions
8 Comments

Multiple online sources are reporting that 1B-LF Tyler Moore has been recalled from Syracuse and will join the Washington Nationals. According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, UT Mark DeRosa will be placed on the DL to make room for Moore.

The 25-year-old Moore is one of two minor-leaguers (Paul Goldschmidt) to connect for 30+ home runs in 2010 and 2011. He was drafted three times by the Nationals (41st Round, 2005; 33rd Round 2006) before finally signing in 2008 as a 16th Round draft pick. His 7 HRs and 20 RBIs for Syracuse this season thus are both tied for third-best in the International League.

Moore racked up a slew of awards in 2010, including the Carolina League MVP, and made the Eastern League postseason All-Star team in 2011.

Moore is expected to come off the bench to play 1B and LF, though it’s most likely he’ll be used as PH against LHPs as an adequate defender at first and just a handful of pro games in left field.

Last Night In Woodbridge

  By Luke Erickson | April 29, 2012 - 10:14 am | Last Night In Woodbridge
1 Comment

Kyle Winters, Living The Dream

A three-run fourth following four rehab innings from Chien-Ming Wang helped the Potomac Nationals snap a six-game skid with a 4-3 win on a rainy Saturday night.

Wang threw 49 pitches and gave up a run on four hits, as the Pelicans were keying on his sinker and were able to make the most of the ones that didn’t sink. Wang, however, was clearly working on his breaking pitches, and those they couldn’t touch with the last of this three Ks coming on a caught-looking bender. He cleanly fielded both chances he got — a leadoff bunt in the first and a 1-6-3 double play in the second.

Unlike the night before, the P-Nats had hits in six of eight innings and pounded out 11 total. Zach Walters led the lineup with a 3-for-3 night, while Randolph Oduber, Michael Taylor and Justin Bloxom each went 2-for-4.

Taylor and Bloxom keyed the three-run fourth with back-to-back singles before big man Kevin Keyes smacked a 398′ flyball off the 400′ CF wall to drive in the first run. Wade Moore drove in the second with a sac fly to left and Oduber completed the rally with an opposite-field single to right.

Matt Swynenberg was not the first man out of the ‘pen, as Trevor Holder took the ball to start the fifth (as the pic above shows, this was the plan all along, as it’s custom for the starter for two nights ahead to track pitches) — a move no doubt also influenced by the forecast, as it looked like the game might be halted at any moment from the 5th to the 7th.

Holder kept the ball in the yard, retiring eight straight before giving a double, a single, and a walk with two outs. He escaped the jam with a little help from Walters, as the shortstop combined with Blake Kelso on a close play at second to end the threat.

Cameron Selik was brought on in the 8th to close out the game but the Pelicans would not go gently in to the chill of the night, leading off both the 8th and the 9th with doubles. Selik stranded the first two-bagger with a grounder and two whiffs, but let in the second with an RBI single. Myrtle Beach would get the tying run to third on the next two outs, but couldn’t bring him in as Selik struck out his third batter to end the game.

The two teams will play the rubber game this afternoon, with Swynenberg (1-1, 4.50) expected to start for Potomac against the Pelicans’ Roman Mendez (1-2, 7.23)

Sunday’s News & Notes

  By Luke Erickson | April 29, 2012 - 10:14 am | News and Notes
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Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Won, 5-3; Lost 11-1 vs. Charlotte,
2:00 p.m.		 Maya (1-2, 2.82) vs.
Leesman (1-2, 3.98)
Harrisburg Won, 5-4 vs. Bowie,
2:00 p.m.		 Mandel (2-1, 1.09) vs.
Pettit (3-0, 1.57)
Potomac Won, 4-3 vs. Myrtle Beach,
1:05 p.m.		 Swynenberg (1-1, 4.50)
vs. Mendez (1-2, 7.23)
Hagerstown Won, 6-1 @ Augusta,
2:05 p.m.		 Meyer (1-2, 6.14) vs.
Crick (0-1, 3.09)

Syracuse 5 Charlotte 3 — GAME ONE
• Atkins (W, 2-2) 5+IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K
• Severino (SV, 2) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, WP, HBP
• Moore 1-3, R, HR, 3RBI
• Carroll 1-2, BB, RBI

Highlighted by a three-run HR by Tyler Moore, the Chiefs exploded for four runs in the bottom of the 5th en route to a 5-3 win in the front end of the doubleheader. It was the 7th of the year for the “Magnolia Muscle,” which is 3rd-best in the I.L. while his RBI tally of 19 is 4th-best. Mitch Atkins evened his record with all three runs allowed on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Atahualpa Severino threw two scoreless to get his second save.

Charlotte 11 Syracuse 1 — GAME TWO
• Roark (L, 1-4) 4⅔ IP, 7H, 8R, 4ER, BB, 2K, 2HR
• Martin 2⅓ IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, BB, K, HR
• Moore 1-2, 2B, BB, RBI
• Teahen 1-3, 2B

A six-run 5th inning put this game away for the Knights, as the Chiefs were checkmated, 11-1, ending the win streak at five for Syracuse. Tanner Roark suffered his fourth loss, giving up eight runs on seven hits (two HR) and a walk. Rafael Martin also suffered the long ball, giving up a three-run shot in the top of the 7th. Tyler Moore continues to swing a hot bat, doubling in the sole Chiefs run in the bottom of the 6th. Still no word on who will fill the vacant spot on the Syracuse roster, but the educated guess is that when Solano comes off the DL there will be a chain reaction between Harrisburg and XST.

Harrisburg 5 Bowie 4
• Demny 1⅔ IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 0K, WP, HBP
• Pucetas (W, 1-0 4⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, BB, K, 3-0 IR-S
• Lozada 2-3, R, 2B, RBI
• Kobernus 1-2, 2R, 3B, BB, 2SB
• Negrych 1-2, 2B, BB, 2RBI

Paul Demny was wild early, giving up all four Bowie runs in the space of 12 batters, but a valiant effort by the Sens ‘pen held the fort to enable Harrisburg to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 win. Kevin Pucetas came on with the bases loaded and one out in the 2nd and stranded them all, pitching four and 2/3rds scoreless. Veteran Jose Lozada went 2-for-3 to lead the comeback, with Sandy Leon driving in Chris Rahl with what proved to be the gamewinner in the bottom of the 6th. Erik Davis got the hold with two scoreless and Christian Garcia notched the save with a 1-2-3 ninth (all Ks) as the three relievers threw seven and 2/3rds scoreless innings total.

Potomac 4 Myrtle Beach 3
• Wang 4IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 3K
• Holder (W, 1-0) 3IP, 2Hm 1R, 1ER, BB, K
• Walters 3-3, R, BB
• Taylor 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Oduber 2-4, RBI

A three-run 4th with four strong from Wang keyed a 4-3 win Last Night In Woodbridge

Hagerstown 6 Augusta 1
• Dupra (W, 2-3) 5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 2K
• Hawkins (H, 1) 3IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 4K
• Dykstra 2-4, R, 2B, BB, RBI
• Ortega 2-3, 2R
• Burns 1-3, R, 2BB, 2RBI

A three-run 5th broke a 1-1 tie as the Suns cruised to a 6-1 win over Augusta. Brian Dupra got the win with a run allowed on three hits and two walks, while Ben Hawkins got the hold with three scoreless innings of relief. Cutter Dykstra went 2-for-4 with a double, walk, and an RBI while Billy Burns single once and walked twice — both extending their hit streaks to seven and eight games, respectively. Matt Skole’s RBI was #30 for the year, which leads the Sally League. Bryce Ortega reached base twice for the 17th straight game. (H/T to Suns PR man Matt Leite on the streak info)

Last Night In Woodbridge

  By Luke Erickson | April 28, 2012 - 9:36 am | Last Night In Woodbridge
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The first five runs in the game were earned, the last four weren’t. The Pelicans got three of those four on three P-Nats errors to overcome a 3-2 deficit and hold on for a 5-4 win on a cold Friday night.

The miscues also masked a gutsy outing by Adam Olbrychowski, who got hit (again) early with two runs in the 2nd inning but then settled in and settled down. After an RBI groundout for the second inning’s second out, the 25-year-old retired 13 of 15 batters.

The two that he didn’t get were walks, and were erased on two nifty double plays by Zach Walters and Franciso Soriano. A single to left followed, ending Olbrychowski’s night with just four hits and three walks allowed. More importantly, by pitching into the 7th he gave the bullpen the task of getting just seven outs, a little relief for the ‘pen that had worked three or more innings the past four games.

Before describing what happened next, it’s important to note that while Olbrychowski was setting them down in order inning after inning, so were the Pelican pitchers. Starter Wilmer Font gave up the first three runs, including a two-run shot to right-center by Wade Moore, but struck out six in his three innings of work. Middle reliever Randol Rojas was easily the true star of the game with five no-hit innings of relief, with just a walk in the sixth.

So while it’s natural to think “those three errors killed us,” the real culprit was the lack of hitting.

Back to the top of the 7th… runner on 1st, two outs, Rob Wort pitching. Josh Richmond lifts a flyball to medium right-center. Michael Taylor and Randolph Oduber converge but neither can get to it. And neither could pick it up cleanly, the error charged to Oduber as the runner came around all the way to score. Game is tied, 3-3.

In the 8th, an errant pickoff by Wort throw sets up a sacrifice fly. Myrtle Beach goes up 4-3.

In the 9th, Wilson Eusebio butchers a grounder with one out. Walters makes a sensational throw after going deep into the 5/6 hole, but the runner moves up and Richmond strikes again with an RBI single. The Pelicans now lead 5-3.

David Freitas, who singled in the first Potomac run way back in the first, strikes out to lead off the ninth. Michael Taylor follows suit. For those without a scorecard, that’s 22 of 25 batters retired since Moore’s homer in the 2nd.

Myrtle Beach commits its sole error as Justin Bloxom reaches on his counterpart’s mistake. After taking second on defensive indifference, Moore collects his third RBI of the night to pull the P-Nats within one at 5-4.

Despite the offensive drought, Potomac had a chance to win or tie. Brian Rupp rolled the dice by sending up big man Kevin Keyes, an all-or-nothing hitter, and giving Wade Moore the green light to steal second.

Moore succeeded, but Keyes didn’t, striking out to end the game.

The loss extends Potomac’s losing streak to six games. Chien-Mien Wang is slated to pitch tonight in a rehab start, with a pitch count of approximately 65 pitches. Matt Swynenberg is likely to be the first man out of the ‘pen as it’s his turn in the rotation. They’ll be opposed by 19-year-old Cody Buckel, the Rangers’ 2nd-round pick of the 2010 draft.