Canning Homers in Debut as P-Nats Batter Hillcats

Lynchburg, VA-The Potomac Nationals (6-6) received an immediate impact from their latest addition to the lineup and clawed back to the .500 mark with their second consecutive road win, defeating the Lynchburg Hillcats (7-5) by a score of 11-5 on Monday night.
RF Gage Canning , called up from Class-A Hagerstown earlier in the day, hit a solo home run in his second P-Nats plate appearance. The 10th ranked prospect in the Nationals organization according to MLB Pipleline, Canning went 1-for-5 in his debut.

Potomac starter RHP Luis Reyes  struggled early, allowing the first three Hillcats batters to reach base and eventually letting them all score. The three-run first was capped by Trenton Brooks' RBI single to put the P-Nats in an early hole.
The Nationals answered back immediately, pushing across four runs on only two hits in the second to take a 4-3 lead. With runners at the corners and one out, SS David Masters  hit a comebacker to Lynchburg starter Adam Scott (L, 1-1) that could have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Scott threw wildly to second to bring home C Jakson Reetz  for Potomac's first run. 3B Anderson Franco  followed with a single to draw the P-Nats to within a run, and DH Cole Freeman  tied it up with an infield single. In his haste to try and throw Freeman out, Scott committed his second throwing error of the inning to score Franco from second and put the P-Nats ahead.
Canning's home run added some insurance to start the fourth, and LF Telmito Agustin  later brought home a pair with a double down the left field line to make the score 7-3 Nationals. Reyes allowed a two-run single to Lynchburg's Tyler Frees in the fourth, and with the tying run in scoring position LHP Grant Borne  (W, 1-0) struck out Oscar Gonzalez to end the threat.
1B Aldrem Corredor  hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to stretch the lead out further, and Reetz laced a single on the next pitch to plate another run. Staked to a 10-5 lead, Borne went 3.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first win.
Masters hit a solo home run in the ninth, his third in the last two days, to cap the scoring for the Nationals, and RHP Steven Fuentes  fanned four in retiring the final six batters to close it out.
The P-Nats continue their series in Lynchburg on Tuesday as they send RHP Kyle Johnston to the mound against Hillcats righty Jean Carlos Mejía. First pitch from City Stadium is set for 6:30 pm, and the Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:15 with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen live at potomacnationals.com, at http://bit.ly/P-NatsBroadcast, or on the TuneIn Radio App.
The Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League play at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, and are the Carolina League affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Potomac Nationals have claimed five Carolina League Championship titles (1982, 1989, 2008, 2010, and 2014) and 10 CL Northern Division Championships. Sponsorship opportunities for the P-Nats' 2019 season and beyond are available, as well as all-inclusive corporate picnic outings to watch the future stars of the Washington Nationals at The Pfitz. 2019 Potomac Nationals season tickets and mini plans are now on sale. For more information on Potomac Nationals 2019 season tickets, mini plans, group outings, picnic packages, fundraisers, and all things Red, White, and Blue, visit the P-Nats online at www.potomacnationals.com, follow the P-Nats on Facebook (@PotomacNationals), Twitter (@PNats42), and Instagram (@pnats42), or call the Potomac Nationals' Extreme Custom Collision Ticket Office at 703-590-2311.