Last Night In Woodbridge
A two-base hit, a sacrifice bunt, and a “run-scoring flyball” gave Potomac a 1-0 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats.
The problem is that happened in the bottom of the first and it was never that certain that the P-Nats would prevail.
Cameron Selik, Marcos Frias, and Hector Nelo combined for a five-hit shutout, allowing just one runner to reach second base. The defense turned two double plays and gunned down a runner trying to stretch a single into a double. And the Potomac offense managed just two more hits from the second to the eighth innings.
It’s difficult to convey the excitement that a 1-0 game is supposed to elicit because, like the sign on Jimmie Dimmick’s lawn, it simply wasn’t there. After the first, it was two hours of wondering when the other shoe would drop: “We’re ahead, but it doesn’t feel like we’re winning.”
For three games now, the Potomac offense has been lifeless. They’ve managed to win two of those games… against a last-place team. To expect the pitching and defense to be that good that often is not realistic. Apologies for the short writeup today, but there’s not much else to say.
The win improves Potomac to 15-9 in the second half, still tied with Frederick for first place in the Carolina League North. Adam Oblrychowski (2-5, 5.36) is slated to start this afternoon, opposed by David Hale (1-3, 4.71).
How’s Selik’s stuff looking these days? Sounds like he was on last night.
Selik’s breaking stuff continues to improve, and he was indeed on last night. My concern is that kind of confluence of a good start, good relief, and decent defense is a tall order at this level. All it would have taken to lose last night was one or two mistakes.
Thanks, Sue, at least you were honest about your fatalism.
You’ll have to write sometime about your preference — the 1-0 game or the 10-9 game. Me personally, the older I get, the more I enjoy the purity of the 1-0 game.
I don’t think it’s 1-0 vs. 10-9. I just think that this game had a very pedestrian run scored early and then a bunch of snooze afterwards. There are 1-0 games that are breathtaking pitcher’s duels. There are 10-9 games that have many twists and turns.
Not sure which kind of game I prefer. I just like them well-played. The error fests that I read about in the low minors would be tough for me to follow but so much.