Maya Rebounds for Syracuse; Upper Minors Report 8/27

The most important news for Nats fans from Friday is that Yuneski Maya's Syracuse debut went much better than his Potomac debut. In 4.2 innings, he allowed only one unearned run and struck out six although he was charged with the loss (L, 0-1) in a Syracuse 4-2 defeat to Buffalo. Maya's line: 4.2IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 6K, WP on 90 pitches. Just looking at the boxscores, it seems that the issues are more command and rust rather than whether he can be a competent major league pitcher. Good news given our increasing starting needs for next year. Collin Balester continued to flash signs of dominating stuff with 6 strikeouts in 3 relief innings of work while giving up one run. Chad Cordero struck out 2 in one inning of work for the Bison to lower his ERA for Buffalo to 2.19. Syracuse struggled offensively. The only strong night in the boxscore was first basemen Jason Botts' 3-4, one run performance.

The beat goes on for Harrisburg. Starter Tanner Roark battled in scattering eight hits while still managing a quality start and giving up three runs. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th, solo homers by catcher Jhonotan Solano in the 7th and DH Marvin Lowrance in the 8th helped Harrisburg secure a clutch 4-3 win over Trenton. Cory Van Allen, Hassan Pena (W, 2-2) and Cole Kimball (S, 10) combined for 2.1IP of scoreless relief to hold off the Thunder long enough for the comeback. Danny Espinosa was also recognized as the shortstop for the end of season Eastern League all-star team.

Potomac summary, Harrisburg summary, and key performances after the jump:

Potomac battered Orioles' affiliate Frederick in an 11-4 P-Nats victory of the Keys. Adrian Alaniz survived 9 hits and three earned runs to secure the victory (W, 8-4). Tyler Moore delivered again with his league leading 29th homer, a two-run blast, to help put the game out of reach. 

Hagerstown defeated Orioles' affiliate Delmarva in a 10-7 slugfest. Evan Bronson was credited with the win after allowing six earned runs in six innings. Kyle Morrison did his part to preserve the lead, pitching three innings, yielding only one unearned run, and striking out five Shorebirds. Eury Perez continues to attract notice for his post-all star break tear. 20,000 plus fans at Nats Park now know his name after he was profiled on Down at the Farm Friday night.

AAA Syracuse:

• Fan Fav Boomer Whiting, CF: 1-4, K, CS
• Fan Fav Michael Martinez, PH: 0-1, RBI, SF
  
• Yuneski Maya, RSP: (L, 0-1) 4.2IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 3BB, 6K, WP, BK 52 strikes out of 90 pitches; six groundouts, 2 flyouts
• Collin Balester, RRP: 3IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 6K
• Danny Espinosa, 2B: 1-4, 2K
  

AA Harrisburg:

• Stephen Lombardozzi, 2B: 0-4, 2K
• Chris Marrero, 1B: 0-4, R
• Michael Burgess, RF: 0-3, R, BB, 2K
• Tanner Roark, RSP: 6.1IP, 8H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K, 2 solo HR

High A Potomac:

• Adrian Alaniz, RSP: (W, 8-4)6IP, 9H, 3ER, BB, 6K, WP
  
• Tyler Moore, 1B: 1-4, R, 3RBI, 2R HR (29th), HBP
• Bill Rhinehart, RF: 2-5, 2B, 2RBI, SF

Low A Hagerstown:

• Randolph Oduber, RF: 0-5, RBI, error (Oduber's Hagerstown debut is one of the more important lines of the day. Oduber is a 21 year old overslot guy that we drafted in the 32nd round of the draft this year to buy him out of a commitment to transfer to Oklahoma State from junior college. He ripped up rookie ball in the GCL to the tune of .366/.434/.569/1.002 in 21 games. At 21, he's old for rookie ball but it's nice to see that he played his way to Hagerstown and it will be interesting to see where he lands on Nats prospect lists.)
• Adrian Sanchez, 2B: 1-5, 2RBI, K
• JP Ramirez, LF: 1-5, R
• Eury Perez, CF: 2-4, 2R, RBI, SB (56th; Perez still shares league lead in the South Atlantic)