Potomac’s offense falters

With a berth in the Carolina League playoffs long since a foregone conclusion, it might be a natural reaction if the Potomac Nationals had difficulty keeping their focus as the season winds down.
Unfortunately for their fans and manager Randy Knorr, recent results reflect this might be the case as the Nationals were recently swept by the cellar-dwelling Lynchburg Hillcats and have looked lethargic in their past two games against the Salem Avalanche, including Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss before 1,112 fans at Pftizner Stadium.
Potomac (34-31 in the second half, 76-59 overall), which won the Northern Division’s first-half title, missed several scoring opportunities and were limited to five hits by Salem pitching. Avalanche relievers held Potomac to two hits in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Following Sunday’s game, Knorr said he was concerned the Nationals’ players may have “dialed it in” and needed to regain their focus in time for the playoffs. The following night, the Nationals responded with a 10-0 rout of Salem, but have struggled in the past two games and continued the offensive struggles that plagued them last weekend.
In the first inning, Michael Martinez doubled and moved to third on a grounder to third, but the inning ended when Francisco Plasencia and Dee Brown, Potomac ‘s No. 3 and 4 hitters respectively, hit grounders back to the mound to end the threat.
Potomac starter Luis Atilano pitched out of a major jam in the second inning. He yielded a leadoff walk to Jimmy Van Ostrand before Greg Buchanan reached on a fielding error by first baseman Andrew Lefave. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Cesar Quintero. After Orlando Rosales walked, Atilano fanned Jhon Florentino looking and retired Nick Moresi on a liner to right.
Lefave was hit by a pitch to lead off the second. He stole second and scored when Stephen King singled to left to give Potomac a 1-0 edge.
Brown drilled a double to left center to begin the fourth and scored on two consecutive ground ball outs to make it 2-0.
Salem (26-39, 56-79) took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. The Avalanche used four consecutive singles, including run-scoring hits by Mark Ori and Koby Clemens and a sacrifice fly by Van Ostrand.
Potomac missed another chance in the sixth when leadoff hitter Dan Lyons reached on a throwing error by shortstop Tim Torres and stole second. Andrew Lefave lashed a single into shallow left, but Cesar Quintero uncorked a perfect throw to the plate to nail Lyons trying to score.
In the ninth, Brown flared a single to right with one out and was replaced by pinch-runner Boomer Whiting. Moments later, Clemens nailed Whiting attempting to steal second, thwarting a possible game-tying rally. Lefave ended the game with a soft fly to left.
The Nationals’ continued offensive woes overshadowed a solid effort by their pitching staff. Potomac hurlers fanned 10 Salem batters overall, while Kyle Gunderson (2 2/3 innings) and Clint Everts (two innings) each tossed scoreless relief.
The loss continued an alarming trend for the P-Nats. Potomac’s record against the teams with the worst overall records this season (Frederick, Salem, and Lynchburg) is 28-30, including a 9-10 mark against the Avalanche. Potomac is 48-28 against the rest of the league.
NOTE: Thursday’s game is Fan Appreciation Night with cooler bags given to the first 1,000 fans in attendance. Salem lefthander Sergio Severino (1-5, 7.11) takes on righthander Erik Arnesen (3-3, 4.21).