Fredericksburg Nationals coverage
Rutledge allowed just three hits and retired the final 12 men he faced in a row. His previous career high for strikeouts in an outing was nine back in his rookie year in 2019. Rutledge has now won three out of his past four starts.
On offense, the FredNats got going early for the second straight night. After leading off the 2nd inning with a single, Trey Lipscomb came around to score on an RBI double from Geraldi Diaz, who narrowly missed a home run off the top of the wall.
Branden Boissiere had a home run and four RBIs and the FredNats coasted to a 9-1 win over the Augusta GreenJackets in the series finale on Sunday at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.
Bryan Caceres got the start for the FredNats for the second time in the series, and after he allowed a run in the first inning, he was lights out. He pitched five innings, allowing six hits and striking out two.
Jared McKenzie homered in his FredNat debut, James Wood had four more hits across two games, and the FredNats split tonight’s doubleheader with Augusta, winning 8-2 in game one and losing 8-7 in game two.
Branden Boissiere had the 8th and final RBI for the FredNats in the middle innings. Fredericksburg got a strong start from Jose Atencio, who earned his second win with the team after pitching five shutout innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. Augusta pushed across a couple runs late for the 8-2 final. Jacob Young reached four times in the game and scored his 90th run of the season, second in professional baseball to only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
Trey Lipscomb made a big splash in his FredNat debut, smacking a three-run home run off the left field foul pole, Will Frizzell went deep twice, but it was Augusta with a 13-11 road win in a wild, back-and-forth series opener at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.
The GreenJackets wasted no time getting to the sticks as Stephen Paolini hit a leadoff homer off Bryan Caceres, the first of four runs in the 1st inning for Augusta. Justin Janas and E.J. Exposito also drove in runs in the frame for Augusta, and both were making their GreenJacket debuts after being drafted in 2022.
Two out of Down East’s three wins in the series were walk-offs. Prior to this series, Fredericksburg had not been walked off this season.
Andry Lara pitched well for the second time in the series as the starter for Fredericksburg. The top-10 Nationals prospect went 5 1/3 innings and did not allow an earned run with six strikeouts. Two unearned runs scored on Lara, and the FredNats had three total errors in the game.
Jackson Rutledge, Bryan Pena, and Cody Greenhill combined for the 6th FredNats shutout of the year Saturday at Grainger Stadium. The shutout effort, plus a two-RBI night from Steven Williams, earned the FredNats a 3-0 win and a 3-2 series edge.
Rutledge used 90 pitches in five innings to limit the Down East offense to just four hits. He struck out six while allowing just one walk. He has now gone 13 innings in his last two starts, striking out 13 and allowing just one run.
James Wood enjoyed a stellar FredNats debut on Friday night, going 4-for-6 with a home run, three RBI and a stolen base. The FredNats fell in 10 innings by a final of 10-9 to the Wood Ducks.
Wood, who joined the team after the Washington Nationals acquired him in the Juan Soto trade, was a star. He started in center field and drove home the team’s first run with a single in the third before launching his 11th overall home run this season in the 5th. The Rockville, MD native had 10 home runs with the California League’s Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres A affiliate) before joining the Nationals organization.
The FredNats dropped the third game of their six-game series with Down East 5-0 Thursday. The FredNats maintain a lead in the series at two games to one.
Righty Emiliano Teodo held the Fredericksburg offense in check most of the evening. The starter went five, allowing just a walk while striking out 10. Jose Corniell helped him carry a no-hitter into the 7th. Steven Williams, Christopher De La Cruz and Branden Boissiere picked up singles in the last three innings.
The FredNats pulled out a 4-3 win in ten innings to begin the six-game series vs. Down East Tuesday. Geraldi Diaz and Yoander Rivero notched go-ahead RBIs in the 10th to power the dramatic win.
Andry Lara got the start for the FredNats and dazzled, allowing a first inning run before firing five straight scoreless. The stretch included an incredible three-pitch inning in the fifth. He outdueled Mitch Bratt, who went five innings as the Wood Ducks starter and allowed two unearned runs when an errant relay throw allowed Diaz and Andry Arias to score the only two Fredericksburg runs in regularly-scheduled play.
