Daniel Federman sat and watched as the Chatham pitching staff allowed 11 runs in the first four innings against Falmouth at Veterans Field on Thursday.

The Miami right-hander isn’t that familiar with a starting role, as he’s only made four starts in his first two seasons with the Hurricanes. But his seven-inning outing on Friday provided a return to normalcy for a pitching staff that had an uncharacteristic blip the day prior. 

After the A’s 15-6 loss to Falmouth Thursday, manager Tom Holliday said the Anglers needed to put the wheels back on, and Federman was the mechanic. His dominant start, combined with a run of offense in the eighth inning, salvaged Chatham (15-11-2) to a 1-1 tie with Yarmouth-Dennis (15-10-2). Federman's energy, after Holliday said the A’s were “energy-less” on Wednesday and Thursday, provided a crucial point to keep Chatham tied in first place.

“I’m a fiery guy,” Federman said. “I’m not laid back. (Catcher) Brady (Smith) and I are very vocal, I think guys maybe feed off the energy a little bit. When things are down in the dugout, you can pick them up.”

Smith and Federman worked in tandem flawlessly after the first inning. Smith was calling pitches and Federman was free-flowing with his entire repertoire, especially his cutter. He consistently stayed in front of hitters and produced weak ground ball contact, while striking out six batters too. 

“He brought the attention to him, and he performed,” Holliday said. “And that’s a really good thing. We’re not as bad as the scores look, but he gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you can do, and he did it.”

Federman’s lone run allowed came in the opening inning, after the Red Sox leadoff hitters strung together consecutive hits that dropped in front of Tyler Doanes (West Virginia) in left field and Kendrick Calilao (Florida) in right. It was the lone blemish as Federman settled in and dominated one of the Cape League’s best offenses. 

After the first three batters reached base, Federman retired 20 of the next 21 hitters. The lone baserunner, a Bradley Beesley single in the third inning, was deleted by a double play on the ensuing pitch.

Federman used his three favorite pitches, a fastball in the low 90s, a mid-80s cutter and changeup to stifle the Y-D lineup. But now he’s got a curveball, a new pitch he’s hoping to use to get through the order more than once and extend as a starter. 

“The curveball felt good, really good,” Federman said. “I was able to throw it 0-0 for a strike. I trusted Brady, we went with his ideas.”

The Anglers offense have seen multiple pitchers this week for a second time, and haven’t found much success against any of them. They scored four runs against Cotuit starter Jackson Wolf on Monday, but were shut out on Tuesday and Wednesday by Harwich’s Connor McCulloigh and Wareham’s Ian Bedell, respectively.

Chatham had seen Y-D starter Ledgend Smith before, scoring five runs off Smith en route to a 15-1 blowout. But Friday, the lefty Smith got the better of a lineup loaded with right-handed hitters.

Jamal O’Guinn’s (USC) two-out double in the third gave the Anglers a chance at their first run, and Smith’s fourth inning leadoff single provided hope the A’s offense would awake from its week-long slumber. But neither proved to make a difference. Chatham entered the eighth inning scoreless, with just two hits. 

“We only had really two efforts to score a run,” Holliday said. “We’re a ballclub that looks like we have bricks tied to our feet and our hands, and it shows especially with the bat.”

Ben Ramirez (USC) ripped a single past the shortstop for the third Anglers’ hit. Once Calilao was hit by a fastball and Hueston Morrill (Oklahoma State) hit a line-drive single to right field, the A’s not only had the bases loaded, but they had more baserunners in the eighth than they had in innings one through seven combined. 

Kaden Polcovich (Oklahoma State) lined a fastball to right field, and as the ball dropped in front of the Red Sox right fielder, Chatham had scored its first run. Ramirez scored, but Calilao should have too, Holliday said. Instead, he held up at third. 

“When you lose three in a row, it makes you put on the breaks a little bit,” Holliday said. “You lose that little bit of aggression. We should have run, we should have went for the win.”

In the middle of the ninth inning, the home plate umpire walked to the A’s dugout to inform Holliday that the ninth inning would be the last. The A’s couldn’t win, but they could still lose. Chatham closer Dawson Merryman (Texas) allowed a walk, but with two outs and two runners on, Merryman induced a groundout to preserve the tie. 

“We’re a ball club that’s kind of dragging right now,” Holliday said. “We had our chance to win the game. We’ll take the tie.”

“But I don’t play for ties.”