FredNats Stave Off RiverDog Rally

CHARLESTON, SC - The RiverDogs had the winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Merrick Baldo slammed the door to give Fredericksburg a 4-2 win. The Nats are now 20-9, while Charleston is 11-16.

A leadoff single followed by a ground-rule double in the top of the first put runners on second and third with nobody out for Fredericksburg, but Charleston’s Santiago Suarez got a pair of strikeouts after that. He got two strikes on Roismar Quintana as well, but Quintana clobbered a three-run home run to give the Nationals an early lead. Caleb Farmer followed that up with a solo shot, marking the first time this season the FredNats have hit back-to-back home runs.

Four runs was plenty of breathing room for Travis Sykora in his second professional start. The right-hander worked through the first three innings without allowing a run, but Raudelis Martinez tagged him for a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it a 4-2 Fredericksburg lead.

From the fourth inning on, both bullpens were excellent as the game held at 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.

Merrick Baldo was called on to close the game out, and allowed a pair of singles and then hit a man to load the bases with two outs. But Baldo composed himself, and struck out Cristopher Barete to end the ballgame. That was the first pro save for Merrick Baldo, with Bryan Polanco (4-0) earning the win as he fired 4.1 innings of scoreless relief. Santiago Suarez (2-2) took the loss.

In game three, Jose Atencio (2-1, 3.18) squares off against T.J. Nichols (1-2, 3.93) in a 7:05 start.