Reynaldo Lopez was beaten in his previous start—also against the Pelicans—and did little to suggest that it was fluke or an aberration. The Carolina League’s best team looked every bit the part as they manhandled the 21-y.o. for a second straight start.
Lopez was charged with five runs on nine hits, five of which were for extra bases (three doubles, a triple, and a home run), and one walk. He did strike out six, but it was not enough to mitigate the damage from the cannonade of extra-base knocks.
Kevin Perez followed Lopez and was immediately greeted with a long HR to right field. While he managed to get the next three outs, he walked four straight to open the 7th before he was lifted for Cody Davis. The usually reliable reliever walked two more before getting a flyout to center to let in all three inherited runners.
Davis then wild-pitched in another run before getting the last two outs. He would close out the game, saving the bullpen from further taxation and finishing with one run charged to his record over three innings.
Meanwhile, the P-Nats had trouble getting solid contact against Myrtle Beach’s Paul Blackburn. They also helped him out — as they have quite a bit this season — with first-pitch swings that produced easy outs.
Potomac would manage just five hits total and draw three walks while striking out nine times. Even a MASN analyst can tell you that’s not enough to get it done on offense.
The series continues this afternoon with Nick Pivetta (3-3, 1.41) vs. Tyler Skulina (1-3, 4.25). Potomac’s elimination number is now 16 with 21 games left in the first half.