Must-wins tonight for Potomac and Hagerstown

By Byron Kerr

Nationals

September 09, 2016, 4:55am

Comments

Bobby Bradley's walk-off single forced the high Single-A Potomac Nationals into a must-win Game 3 tonight in the Carolina League divisional semifinals. The winner gets a berth in the Mills Cup Finals. Bradley's single lifted Lynchburg to a 6-5 win in 14 innings.

Bryan Mejia and Victor Robles each tallied three base hits. Starter Hector Silvestre allowed three runs over five innings. Neil Holland (0-1) gave up four hits and one run over 1 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Potomac will start left-hander Matthew Crownover (4-4, 4.28 ERA) tonight. Crownover has four consecutive starts in which he has allowed no more than three earned runs. The Hillcats counter with 12-game winner left-hander Sean Brady. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. tonight in Lynchburg.

It's also a must-win tonight for low Single-A Hagerstown. Lakewood toppled the Suns 6-1 in Game 1 on Wednesday for the South Atlantic League divisional series. Jefry Rodriguez (0-1) allowed only two runs over four innings but took the loss.

Game 2 is tonight at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown. Left-hander Tyler Watson gets the call for manager Patrick Anderson. In 12 starts, Watson is 2-3 with a 2.64 ERA between Auburn and Hagerstown. The 19-year-old is another example of the Nationals southwest scouting success. Fellow teenager centerfielder Blake Perkins grew up just one-hour drive from Watson in Buckeye, Ariz.

If Game 3 is necessary, it will be played Saturday night. Nationals right-hander Joe Ross could start that game.