Potomac's magic number at 2 after victory

A team-wide hitting slump on their current homestand had left the Potomac Nationals waiting for someone to jump start the offense. With the playoffs less than a week away, the Nationals badly needed someone to come up with a key hit with runners on base.
That player turned out to be outfielder Dee Brown.
Potomac, 35-31 in the second half, had struggled to score against Lynchburg and Salem in starting the current homestand 1-5.
But Brown, the son of former Philadelphia Eagle Jerome Brown, drove home five runs last night against Salem as first-place Potomac won, 8-4, before an announced crowd of 1.003.
Potomac (77-59 for the year) has the top batting average in the Carolina League and hopes to re-establish its offense in time for next Wednesday's home playoff opener.
The P-Nats, who already were the first-half winners of the Northern Division of the Carolina League, reduced their magic number to two to clinch the second half title as well.
The second-place team, Wilmington, has little chance of overtaking the Nationals, although the Blue Rocks begin a four-game home series this evening against Potomac and Wilmington would have to sweep the series to take the second-half title.
However, Wilmington can also clinch a playoff spot by finishing second to Potomac. The Blue Rocks’ magic number to clinch second place was just one entering last night’s games.
If a team such as Potomac clinches both the first- and second-half titles, the second playoff spot is reserved for the second-place team during the second half of the season
Potomac wasted little time in jumping on Avalanche starter and loser Sergio Severino (1-6). Brown’s triple into the right center field gap scored Michael Martinez and Andrew LeFave as the P-Nats took a 2-0 first-inning lead.
Following a 67-minute rain delay, Brown delivered again against reliever Raymar Diaz, this time with a two-out bases-loaded double to center field in the fourth inning.
Matt Rogelstad followed with a single to score Brown to make the score 8-3.Rogelstad, who recently returned to Potomac after competing for Canada in the Summer Olympics in Beijing along with Jimmy Van Ostrand of Salem, had two hits with two RBI’s.
Catcher Jhonatan Solano added two hits, including his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning.
Potomac starter Erik Arnesan picked up the win, his first at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium in three efforts.
The 24-year old from New Jersey, who had given up 11 runs in his first two starts at the Pfitz, piched five innings, yielding seven hits and three runs.
Considering his night was interrupted by the lone rain delay, Arnesan’s commendable effort ended with a well-deserved win.
Arnesan benefitted greatly from double-play grounders by the Avalanche that ended the fourth and fifth innings.
Martin Beno, Atihualpa Severino and Josh Wilkie pitched four innings of relief for Potomac, yielding one run.
Shortstop Tim Torres had four hits for Salem.
• NOTES: If Potomac duplicates its first-performance and wins the second-half title, it will be for the first time in its 31-year history of the franchise.....Potomac’s 76 wins is the second most in the franchise’s history, second only to the 80 wins posted by the 1982 Alexandria Dukes......Against the three Carolina-League teams with the worst records (Frederick, Lynchburg and Salem), the P-Nats are 29-31....On the other hand, Potomac is an impressive 48-28 against the other four teams (Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Winston-Salem and Kinston)....Although the P-Nats hit only .224 on the current homestand going into last night’s game, first baseman Andrew LaFave has hit .391 in that six-game span.....Ross Detwiler (7-8) will start for Potomac this evening against Wilmington’s Ed Cegarra (6-7). Hassan Pena (2-1), Jef Mandel (6-5) and Luis Atilano (5-2) are scheduled to pitch the final three games of the series.