Nats Were Off, But the Affiliates Weren't

The Washington Nationals got a much needed break yesterday in the midst of a stretch of games where they will play 20 game sin 21 days.
The Nats minor league system however was not off, so here is the Nationals Affiliate roundtrip.
After losing three of four to Toledo, the Columbus Clippers (AAA) got an outstanding starting performance from Mike O’Connor to jump start a 4 game stretch with Buffalo, winning 4-1 in the series opener. O’Connor tossed 6 innings yielding 1 unearned run and zero earned runs. He struck out 4. O’Connor earned the win and is now 3-0 with an ERA of 2.04. Brian Sanches pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 7th save and lower his ERA to an impressive 0.98.
Offensively, the Clippers got 2 hits apiece from Kory Casto and Tim Murphy. Casto doubled in three runs and lifted his batting average to .318.
Current Record: 26-22, 3rd place, 5 GB
Harrisburg Senators (AA) downed New Britain 5-2 behind super hot starter Marco Estrada. Estrada pitched 6 innings gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and struck out 4. Estrada improved to 5-2 with an ERA of 2.45.
Garrett Guzman was 3 for 5, doubled and drive in 2 runs. C Luke Montz hit his 9th homer of the year, driving in two runs and going 1 for 3. Luis Jiminez also knocked in a run.
Current Record: 28-16, First Place

Potomac Nationals (A) crushed Wilmington 10-3 last night. Adrian Alaniz gave up 3 runs in 5 innings, but earned the win to remain perfect at 6-0.
Matt Rogelstad was 2 for 5, drove in a run and scored twice. SS Seth Bynum was 2 for 2 including his 5th homer of the season. Marvin Lowrance was 2 for 5 and drive in 3 runs while Edgar Baez was 3 for 4 with a double and a run driven in. Overall, the Nationals racked up 12 hits and 10 runs in an offensive explosion.
Current Record: 28-16, First Place
Hagerstown Suns (Low A) drew even with Lexington in a four game series,. The Suns 7-2 win last night brought the series to a 1-1 tie. Luis Atilano pitched 4 innings yielding a run and striking out 4 to earn the win. Edulin Abreau pitched 3 scoreless innings to earn his third save.
Daniel Lyons continued his hot bat, going 2 for 5 and scoring a run. Bill Rhinehart was 2 for 5 and score twice. Rhinehart is hitting .327. Aaron Suess was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Red Hot Michael Burgess was 3 for 4 with three runs drive in and his second triple. Burgess leads the Suns with 11 homers but was wallowing around the .220 batting average mark. Burgess now has a 8 game hitting streak and raised his average to .252. During the stretch, Burgess is 13/38 (.342).
Current Record: 24-22, 4th place, 5GB
Combined Minor League Affiliate Record: 106 wins – 76 losses (.582)
Nats Minors Amongst the Leaders:
AAA:
Ryan Langerhans is 13th overall in the International League in batting, hitting .306. He is also second overall in OBP, .417. Tim Murphy and Peter Orr are tied for 7th in the Int’s League with 29 runs scored. Orr leads the Int’l League with 8 triples. Tyler Clippard is 7th overall in strikeouts with 47.
AA:
Roger Bernadina is 7th overall in the Eastern League with .321 average while Michael Daniel is 10th overall, hitting .314. Bernadina is also second in the league with 5 triples. Justin Maxwell leads the Eastern League with 35 runs scored. Luke Montz is second in homers with 9 and 3rd overall in RBIs with 35. Luis Jiminez is 9th overall in slugging at .505. Marco Estrada is 2nd overall with 5 wins and 3rd overall in ERA at 2.45.
A:
Matt Rogelstad is 12th in the Carolina League in batting at .289, 8th in doubles with 12 and 5th overall in slugging at .507. Leonard Davis is 3rd in the Eastern League with 7 homers and Chris Marrero is 4th with 6. Seth Bynum is 3rd overall in RBIs with 27 followed by Edgar Baez with 26. Adrian Alaniz leads the Eastern League in pitching with a 6-0 record, is 7th in ERA at 2.85, and is 6th overall in strike outs with 47. Craig Stammen is 3rd overall in ERA at 1.98.
Low A:
Bill Rhinehart is the man. Rhinehart is 4th in the South Atlantic hitting .327, 2nd in doubles with 15, leads the league in RBIs with 43 and is 4th overall in slugging with .532 percentage. Michael Burgess leads the South Atlantic with 11 homers and is 6th in slugging at .521.