Nats minor report: Bloxom, Soriano swinging hot bats
Syracuse Chiefs(AAA) fell 7-4 last night. Jeff Mandel (2-3) got hammered for 7 hits and 6 runs in just 2.2 innings. Colin Balestar threw 2.1 scoreless innings to bring his ERA back to single digits at 9.00. Boomer Whiting is enjoying AAA baseball. He went 3-5 and scored a run. Whiting is hitting .304 since being promoted to AAA. Justin Maxwell was 2 for 4.
Harrisburg Senators(AA) lost 5-4. Andrew Kown gave the Senators a quality start, pitching 6 innings, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs. The two reliable relievers weren’t reliable yesterday. Cole Kimball blew a save and allowed a run in 2.1 innings. Closer Zechery Zinicola (1-3) took the loss allowing a run in 1.2 innings. Danny Espinosa continues to swing a blazing bat, going 2-4. Over his last 10 games he has hit 4 home runs and its batting .350. Tim Pahuta continues to pound home runs, going 2 for 5 with a homer. It is his 6th home run in AA and 15th overall, leading the Nationals system. Mike Martinez (4) and Marvin Lowrance (4) also went deep. Sean Rooney was 3 for 5.
Potomac Nationals(A) got shutout 3-0. Maybe they need to change their name, they are playing too much like the actual Nationals. Potomac managed just 3 hits on the night. Trevor Holder pitched 5.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs, 0 of which were earned. Justin Phillabaum, Corey VanAllen, and Clayton Dill combined for 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Hagerstown Suns(A) pounded their opponent for 19 hits and 11 runs to win 11-7. The Suns lineup is featuring some very hot hitters. Francisco Soriano went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs. Over his last ten games, he is hitting .500 (20 for 40). Justin Bloxom, perhaps the hottest hitter in the Nats system, went 3-5 with 2 doubles, an RBI, and 3 runs scored. His is hitting .333. Over his last 10, he is batting .488. JP Ramirez was also 3 for 5 with a run. He is hitting .425 over his last 10. Destin Hood and Eury Perez also added three hits each. Kyle Morrison (2-4) picked up the win out of the Suns bullpen. Ron Wort pitched 2 scoreless innings to earn his 6th save and lower his ERA to 3.86. Wort ERA has steadily declined since moving into the closer role.
