As much as we like our boys to win, sometimes we’re reminded that they’re also here to learn.
At least that’s what the rational fan should be thinking after Wilmington rocked Pedro Encarnacion for five runs in the 5th to hand the P-Nats a 6-1 loss in the opener of the doubleheader last night in Woodbridge.
Encarnacion, who made four appearances — one abbreviated by rain — in the GCL over the last two weeks, looked good in his first inning of work, setting down the 2-3-4 batters 1-2-3 in the 4th on a pair of groundouts and strikeout.
But after a leadoff single in the 5th and a walk followed by a wild pitch, he looked rattled and pitched like, well, he was still in the GCL. A tapper to second was hit just slowly enough to score the go-ahead run. A triple down the right-field line sent in another. A swinging bunt scored the third Wilmington run.
Another single, this one also to right, plated the fourth run. After an aborted double-steal — Severino sniffed out, but couldn’t catch the runner at 3rd — Encarnacion rocked back and forth on the rubber for balk and another Wilmington run.
Raul Mondesi doubled to finish the binge, and Encarnacion finally got a popout. With a positive to lean on, manager Tripp Keister pulled the plug but the damage was done.
Of course, as the “1” in the linescore suggests, the Potomac bats were largely dormant — just five hits total and one walk, with the shutout avoided only when a wild pitch plated the tying run in the third.
The loss broke a modest four-game win streak, and another in the nightcap cut the P-Nats lead in the Carolina League North to just a 1/2 game over the Blue Rocks. Tonight, they’ll pick up where things left off last Thursday and then play a nine-inning game afterwards.