P-Nats' Maya continues rise to big leagues

Prince William County, Va. - As the National Anthem was sung, Yunesky Maya stood with his teammates and muttered words of encouragement in preparation for Sunday's outing.

This was to be a step toward the Cuban defector's climb to the big leagues.

He had already thrown for his country in two World Baseball Classics and allowed one earned run in two starts over seven innings at the Washington Nationals' rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate in Viera, Fla.

Signed by Washington to a four-year, eight million dollar contract on July 31 and currently on its 40-man roster, the right-handed pitcher was seeking to be effective during the series finale between the Winston-Salem Dash and Potomac Nationals.

On Sunday, Maya, 28, was solid. At least for three innings of Potomac's 9-8 loss.

Maya used his fastball and curveball to hold Winston-Salem scoreless before allowing five runs in the fourth and one in the fifth.

"I felt pretty good physically," Maya said through his interpreter Faustiao Severino, who serves as Washington's academy administrator in the Dominican Republic.

"It was a positive outing as far as [working on] some things. I didn't feel as comfortable [as I wanted to], but I'm a pretty controlled pitcher. I'm building up physically and I should be good for my next outing."

Severino was unsure when Maya's next outing would be. But it will be at Triple-A Syracuse.

Sunday's outing began with much promise.

Maya, who has no family members in America, arrived in Woodbridge on Saturday. He attended that evening's game and studied the approach of Winston-Salem's hitters to establish a plan of how he would face them the following afternoon.

Maya threw an impressive curveball for a strike to his first batter, Kenny Williams Jr. He used a breaking ball to strike out Drew Garcia for the first out of the second inning.

Maya threw 10 pitches in the first inning, eight in the second.

"I felt comfortable," he said. "I was in my comfort zone when I was throwing in the low 90s. My curveball was fine. I made some [strides] with my location. I felt strong. I threw the changeup and it did feel good to face better competition."

Maya's last full inning had its struggles with the Dash sending 10 men to the plate.

Seth Loman's double tied the game at one. Three more run-scoring singles followed.

Jose Martinez's sacrifice fly then allowed the Dash to lead 5-1.

Loman's solo home run in the fifth was the final hit Maya allowed. It gave Winston-Salem a 6-1 lead.

Maya walked the next batter, Ozzie Lewis and Potomac manager Gary Cathcart came to the mound to remove Maya in favor of left-hander Clayton Dill.

"It was the second time in the order," Cathcart said of Maya's fourth inning troubles. "He didn't locate his fastball quite as well. They were swinging early in the count and he didn't give them a chance to get to the curveball."

Maya left after being charged with six runs on seven hits through four and two-thirds innings. He walked three, struck out four, threw a wild pitch and hit a batter.

He did this with a blister on his right thumb.

"It didn't bother me that much," Maya said. "I did have a little trouble getting a feel for the changeup."

He anticipates pitching in the big leagues come September.

Severino will accompany Maya to his next start, but it is unknown as to when that start will be.

After this outing, Maya sat on a table in Potomac's training room and studied the chart which tracks his pitches.

Maya was the losing pitcher in a game Potomac (30-24 second half, 61-63 overall) nearly won.

The Nationals trimmed a six-run deficit to one and nearly scored the tying run. With Chris Curran batting, Dash relief pitcher Tyson Corley threw a pitch to the backstop. Jose Lozada scampered to home plate from third base. The ball bounced back to catcher Jason Bour, who threw to Corley covering home plate. Corley tagged Lozada before the runner reached the plate.

Hence, the game and series went to Winston-Salem.

This loss reduces Potomac's Northern Division lead to one and a half games. Its closest competitor, Wilmington, visits Pfitzner Stadium for a three-game series beginning Monday.

Two weeks will remain in the minor league season as of Monday.

"There won't be any secrets," Cathcart said. "We know them pretty well. They know us. As is the case in baseball, the team that executes the best is going to win some games. The fun part of baseball is getting to see what kind of series we have."

Staff writer Robert Daski can be reached at 703-530-3913.