It was the best of pitching and the worst of pitching all in one night, as Taylor Hill spun a one-hit shutout for a 6-0 win in the opening game while Kylin Turnbull couldn’t make it out of the second as Potomac fell 8-2 in the nightcap.
Hill was sensational — hitting his spots, changing speeds, mixing it up, and working fast to keep the Frederick lineup off-kilter for the first 14 batters before switch-hitting first baseman Connor Narron steered a grounder past the dive of Adrian Sanchez with two outs in the 5th.
The 23-year-old Vanderbilt product has a reputation for getting groundballs and inducing contact, but instead struck out seven and got seven flyouts to the outfield. For the season, he’s now 3-0 in as many starts with a 1.42ERA and 0.79WHIP with 16K in 19 innings.
On offense, Potomac got things started in classic fashion as leadoff man Billy Burns walked and stole second and trotted in to score when the P-Nats #2 batter put a coat on a hanger for a double. You might even say it was a Taylor made.
A wild pitch sent Michael to third and came around when Cutter Dykstra got the first of his two RBI groundouts, sacrificing average to fulfill his mission of scoring runs.
Justin Miller’s Potomac debut was highlighted by a leadoff single in the third and an RBI double in the fifth. He would come around to score on a balk
Kevin Keyes was the second P-Nat with multiple hits, and scored the 6th and final run in the sixth on sacrifice fly by Caleb Ramsey.
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It wasn’t so pretty in the second game. Starter Kylin Turnbull lost for the third time in as many starts, turning in his shortest outing with more walks (five) than outs (four), including four straight in the 2nd.
Relievers Christian Meza and Tyler Herron showed their Mr. Hyde side after Dr. Jeckyll outings in Salem, with Meza giving up five hits and two walks in an inning and 2/3rds and Herron hitting a batter and walking two while striking out the side in the 4th. Colin Bates settled things down with three scoreless innings, allowing just a single.
Frederick opted to have its bullpen cover the game, pushing the originally scheduled starter Eduardo Rodriguez to this afternoon. Potomac actually outhit the Keys 9-8 but couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it, the four-single, one-run 4th emblematic of their struggles. Will Piwinica-Worms and Cole Leonida both went 2-for-3, with Leonida doubling and Piwinica-Worms collecting an RBI.
With the doubleheader split, the P-Nats remain in the Carolina League cellar, albeit with a 7-8 mark. Robbie Ray (1-1, 2.12) gets the start this afternoon as the P-Nats aim for .500 and a series split.