Telegraph photo by TOM KING Nashua Silver Knights manager Kyle Jackson may not win many arguments with umpires, but he feels he has the team to win games down the final two-week stretch of the FCBL season.

NASHUA – It was a solid pitching performance, five shutout innings in which the Nashua Silver Knights could not touch Worcester starter Eric Chavarria in what eventually became a 9-2 Bravehearts win a week ago Tuesday.

That’s the kind of starting mound performance the Silver Knights would love to have – and probably need — as they hit the 2020 pandemic summer home stretch. Tonight they begin their post-break final two weeks of the season at North Shore, clinging to the last FCBL playoff spot. It’s a brutal stretch of 14 games in 15 days.

Will they get it from their current rotation? As usual, injuries have hit the mound staff as the season goes on. Opening Night starter Geoff Mosseau (elbow tightness) is long gone. First-year manager and former longtime pitching coach Kyle Jackson has cobbled together a rotation with a couple of mainstays, depending more on the bullpen while a very capable offense often overcomes early deficits.

Nashua pitching is ranked fourth out of the six teams with a 4.92 earned run average, but the alarms sound with a league leading .276 at .412 batting average and slugging percentage against.

Conversely, with an offense paced by older players Jared Dupere, Dom Keegan, John Mead and Dylan Jones, the Knights are second in the league in average (.268), on base percentage (.375) and homers (28). They lead the league in slugging at .425.

Nashua at last look, at 14-11, trails first place 15-8 Worcester by two games. But the Knights are a game and a half up on both North Shore (12-12) and Brockton (13-3) for the final playoff spot. Westfield (10-14) and New Britain (10-16) bring up the rear.

Jackson feels his group has the right mentality to get the most out of these next two weeks. The final regular season game is Aug. 19 at Westfield.

“They’re a fun, happy, excited team, and excited team,” Jackson said. “They feel like they have a chance to win it. But they go game by game, and that’s how I want them to think. I don’t want them to think there’s two weeks left and what the standings are, stuff like that. It’s play your best and see where you finish.”

Jackson likes his team’s versatility, as he can basically move players around the infield without much trouble. A couple of outfielders have been out but he’s been able to insert players like Tom Crowley and Ben and Mike Rounds anywhere out there – even sometime catcher Dylan Jones.

“Guys have filled in,” Jackson said. “Mead has surpassed my expectations from way he was at Franklin Pierce. The Rounds (brothers) have been great, Crowley’s been great since the trade (with North Shore a month ago)…”

And Jackson’s list goes on and on, extending to infielders like Luke Beckstein (third) and Lucas Stallman (anywhere), etc.

But it’s going to come down to arms. Jackson moved Griffin Young, unhittable in the bullpen, to the rotation and he responded by allowing one run in four plus innings in his first start last Friday.

“He earned another start,” Harrington said. “He did great.”

Pat Harrington is probably the mainstay of the rest, despite the fact he’s winless (0-1) in five starts. With an ERA of 3.32, he has kept Nashua in the game when he leaves after four innings or so. Same for Josh Roberge (0-1, 4.15), who blamed a tough outing last time on doing too much activity running and shagging flies before the game.

“He felt he left the team down,” Jackson said. “For him to say that, it shows character.

“We’re going to move some guys around, try to get the starters some extra rest. And see where the chips fall.”

That may take away from the bullpen a bit, but could be helped if ace reliever Brandon Dufault can bounce back from a disabled list stint with a sore side injury. Lefty reliever Nick Guarino, who is 2-0, 0.00, could get more of a load in any pitching role down the stretch.

Bottom line? They may not have the dominant starting that a couple of other clubs have. But the Silver Knights have their best offensive team in years – no one saw this power coming – and may rely on clutch hitting and a strong bullpen.

“If we get to 7, 8, 9, they feel like they own it,” Jackson said. “If we’re tied or down by one, we’re going to come back.”

The depth Jackson likes could be huge, because most likely having to leave as early as August 15 for school purposes include Keegan (junior at Vanderbilt), infielders Beckstein and Brady Day (Kansas State) and Penn State reliever Steven Miller.

If the attitude and approach can be maintained, though, anything is possible.

“Every day we show up,” said Keegan. “We have the same mentality every day. Have fun, get our work in, play hard, play together.

“You’re not going to win every game, but we’ve been winning a majority of them because of the way we approach every day.”

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Today’s 1 p.m. Scout Camp at Fraser Field in Lynn, Mass. Will feature just position player workouts. The Knights will then face the Navs in a makeup game at 6.

“Pitchers aren’t pitching in the scout day,” Jackson said, “because we have a game and I told them I don’t want that. It’s not fair to us. So our pitchers won’t be there, and neither will North Shore’s.”

Instead there’ll be 60-yard runs, fielding, and batting practice, followed by a two-hour break and then the game….

Nashua is at North Shore again (6 p.m.) Wednesday but return home Friday vs. Brockton for four straight games, the last of which is a Monday makeup vs. North Shore.

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