May 24, 2023 3 min read

For 91 pitches Wednesday night, Wild Things starting pitcher Kobe Foster did his job. The lefty worked fast, threw strikes and tossed six shutout innings.

He left the game with Washington protecting a 1-0 lead.

It took one inning for the Wild Things’ bullpen to redirect the game.

Florence scored four runs on four hits – each for extra bases, including three triples – in the seventh inning. That was enough offense for Florence as the Y’alls cut short a couple of Washington comeback attempts and defeated the Wild Things, 4-2.

The loss was the fourth straight for Washington after starting the year with six wins in seven games.

The loss put a damper on the fine outing by Foster, last year’s Frontier League Rookie of the Year. He allowed only three hits, walked two and struck out nine in his best outing of the season. He exited after throwing 91 pitches.

“It’s early in the season, so 80 to 90 pitches, nothing crazy, is ideal,” Foster said. “I thought I threw the ball really well tonight.

“I felt sharp. My first two starts, I was missing a pitch. I felt complete tonight. The fourth inning was longer than I wanted. I threw 24 pitches and had a leadoff walk and some deep counts, but I thought I threw a great baseball game.”

That was become common from Foster, who has lost only one regular-season outing in his time with Washington.

On this night, the bullpen couldn’t get Foster a win. Rookie Anthony Boix (0-1) followed Foster on the mound to start the seventh and he walked the first batter he faced, Andres Rios. Jeremiah Burks followed with a triple to right centerfield that tied the score at 1-1.

After a strikeout, and against a drawn-in infield, Florence rookie Sam Plash grounded a triple inside the first-base bag and down the right-field line to give the Y’alls the lead.

Andrew Mitchell was then brought in to pitch and he gave up a run-scoring double to former Wild Things outfielder Cole Brannen. Marcos Castillo followed with a run-scoring triple off the centerfield wall that made it 4-1.

Washington closed to within 4-2 in the eighth when rookie center fielder Robert Chayka hit his first professional home run.

The Wild Things had plenty of scoring opportunities but couldn’t cash in. They left the bases loaded in the second and fourth innings and stranded 13 baserunners in addition to hitting into two double plays. Washington hitters were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Washington gave Foster the lead in the fourth when Andrew Czech reached first base on a dropped third strike, moved to third on a double by Abraham Sequera and scored on a single by Chayka, who drove in both Washington runs.

Carter Poiry (2-1), the second of four Florence pitchers, was the winner with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Cameron Pferrer picked up his second save by getting the final four outs.

Notes

Washington catcher Melvin Novoa (leg) was put on the seven-day disabled list and catcher Lolo Williams was signed to the active roster. Williams was released at the end of spring training but had been serving as the team’s bullpen catcher. … Mike Kickham, Florence’s 34-year-old starting pitcher, pitched in 21 major league games, most recently with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021. He gave up five hits and one run in four innings.