While the Chatham offense heated up on Thursday, the Anglers still extended their losing streak to three games. On Friday at 5 p.m., the A’s head on the road for a matchup with Yarmouth-Dennis at Red Wilson Field.

Chatham scored six runs after back-to-back offense shutouts yesterday, but its pitching against Falmouth allowed 11 runs in the first four innings. By the end of nine frames, they lost 15-6. The loss was the A’s third in the last four games following a streak of seven wins in eight. 

“The wheels have fallen off,” manager Tom Holliday said. “We gotta put the wheels back on.”

Still, Chatham has 31 points, tied for first place in the East Division.

The other team with 31 points is the Red Sox, who are coming off a 5-3 win over Brewster following a three-game losing streak of their own. Y-D knocked 10 hits and allowed just one run until the final inning, where it gave away two more scores.

Probable pitchers

Daniel Federman (Miami) will get the start against Y-D. The right-hander will start his second consecutive game after a four inning appearance in the backend of a doubleheader with Falmouth on Sunday. Since allowing four runs in his first outing of the season against Wareham, Federman has dropped his ERA to 6.10.

Luke Bartnicki (Georgia Tech) is expected to come in relief coming off his worst appearance of the season on July 4. The left-handed freshman came into the final four innings of last Thursday’s game with a 8-1 lead and left it allowing five earned runs on seven walks. Eventually, infielder Jorge Arenas (Stetson) came in for a one-out save to hold the lead. Bartnicki has 21 strikeouts in 14 innings of work with a 1.93 WHIP for the A’s.

Ledgend Smith (Oklahoma) will pitch for the Red Sox. The A’s have seen Smith already, blasting five runs off the lefty in a 15-1 win. Smith comes into Friday off a near-perfect outing against Orleans — five innings, two hits, no walks and six strikeouts.

Player to watch

Through the A’s slump and it's back-to-back shutouts, Alex Toral (Miami) is the only player to record a hit in each of Chatham’s last three games. While he wasn’t one of two Anglers to homer on Thursday, Toral added two more hits to his week in the loss. In the last four games, Toral is 4-for-9 with an RBI. 

Stat to know — 36

Chatham amassed six runs on Thursday against the Commodores, the same amount it accumulated in its last 36 innings combined. The A’s had three shutouts in four games prior to Thursday’s game at Veterans Field.

Last time they played

Holliday called the two’s last matchup one of the closest things he’s seen to a perfect offensive game. The A’s overpowered Y-D in all facets of the game. What started with a Kaden Polcovich (Oklahoma State) leadoff home run turned into a 15-1 route.