The bullpen wasn’t to blame for this one — Ben Hawkins and Richie Mirowski hosed the Sox for four and 2/3rds of scoreless relief… with a little help from Michael Taylor, who gunned down top prospect Deven Marrero from shallow centerfield to end the top of the 7th.
Instead, it was the struggles of starter Kylin Turnbull, who had difficulty locating his fastball and was touched for nine hits — five going for extra bases — over just four and a 1/3rd innings. The big blow came in the top of the second when he gave up singles to three of the first four batters he faced before surrendering a three-run shot to the No. 9 batter Felix Sanchez.
The Salem right fielder also figured in the first and last Potomac runs, unable to track down a wind-blown flyball off the bat of Kevin Keyes in the 2nd and dropping a drive to the warning track off the bat of Jason Martinson in the 8th.
Those miscues, however, were something of a wash as the P-Nats ran into two outs that minimized the damages in the 5th as the Red Sox played like a team that was up big (7-1) and used the P-Nats aggression against them.
Singles by Cutter Dykstra, Adrian Sanchez, and Randolph Oduber loaded the bases with one out (a strikeout by Caleb Ramsey). Billy Burns doubled to left to plate Dykstra and Sanchez but Oduber was gunned down for the second out, trying to score from first. Likewise, Taylor followed with a single to right that sent in Burns for the third run but ended the rally when the Sox catcher reversed a throw to the on-deck circle with a seed to second get Taylor for the third out.
Ramsey atoned for his whiff with a homer in the 7th while Martinson cashed in the Salem Sanchez’s error by scampering home on a wild pitch.
Adrian Nieto would lead off the 9th with a walk, giving way to pinch-runner Francisco Soriano but a Dykstra strikeout and a Sanchez GIDP ended the game.
With the loss, Potomac falls to 1-3 on the young season. Taylor Hill, who apparently was doing his side session as a relief appearance (unusual, but not unprecedented) on Friday, gets the start tonight against William Cuevas for Salem.