Winston-Salem 8, Potomac 2
W: Bernardo Flores (1-3)
L: Joan Baez (1-8)
S: None
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 4, 2017) – Bernardo Flores tossed five shutout innings, and Eloy Jimenez smashed a home run as part of his four-RBI effort as the Dash secured their season-best fifth straight victory by defeating the Potomac Nationals 8-2 on Friday night at BB&T Ballpark.
Flores (1-3) dazzled in his seventh start with Winston-Salem (21-20, 45-66) this season, tossing 74 pitches – 49 of which were strikes – en route to his first High-A victory. Overall, the southpaw yielded just four hits while striking out five and walking two.
Meanwhile, Jimenez continued his hot hitting since joining the Dash in a mid-July trade with the Cubs for big leaguer Jose Quintana.
The 20-year-old went 2-for-4 on the evening, capping the scoring with a three-run blast in the eighth against P-Nats reliever RC
Orlan.
Rated as the fifth-best prospect in the Minors by Baseball America, Jimenez, who also scored three runs in the game, is hitting .352 (25-for-71) with five home runs and 18 RBIs in 20 games for the Dash.
Thanks to Friday’s outcome, Winston-Salem has recorded its first five-game winning streak since August 9-13, 2016, and its sixth straight victory at the downtown facility.
For the second consecutive night, the Dash plated a run in the first inning. Bryant Flete started the frame with his third triple of the season against Potomac starter Joan Baez (1-8), and Joel Booker followed with an RBI infield single to put Winston-Salem ahead 1-0.
The Dash added to their lead with two unearned runs in the fifth. Flete reached second to begin the inning after big leaguer Michael Taylor, who was rehabbing and starting in center for the Nationals (16-24, 49-61) on Friday, made a fielding error on his fly ball. After Booker laid down a successful sacrifice bunt, Jimenez grounded a run-scoring single through the left side to score Flete.
Later in the frame, Brady Conlan made it a 3-0 contest on an RBI infield single to shortstop Edwin Lora, scoring Jimenez on the play. The Dash tallied two more runs in the seventh, courtesy of a Seby Zavala run-scoring single and a Conlan sacrifice fly.
Matt Foster picked up right where Flores left off when he entered the contest in the sixth, striking out two in a pair of scoreless frames. In 14 combined appearances between Low-A Kannapolis and Winston-Salem this season, Foster has yielded just one run in 17.1 innings, equating to a 0.52 ERA.
The P-Nats broke through with two runs in the eighth against Jake Elliott, who made his High-A debut on Friday, but Ian Hamilton tossed a scoreless ninth to seal the victory.
#YourHomeTeam goes for its sixth straight win on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against the Nationals. Winston-Salem will send right-hander Alec Hansen (1-4, 2.78 ERA), who leads all White Sox farmhands with 138 strikeouts, to the bump against Potomac right-hander Luis Reyes (7-10, 4.60 ERA). Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 p.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Saturday also marks the next Chick-fil-A Four Pack Night at BB&T Ballpark. For as low as $32, fans will receive four tickets, four Dash hats and four chicken sandwich vouchers, redeemable at the Chick-fil-A at Thruway Shopping Center. This deal must be purchased in advance, so call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 to get your tickets before coming out to the ballpark. Also, kids are invited to run the bases following Saturday’s contest, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
