Nashua Silver Knights starter Nigel Cross delivers a pitch during Saturday's win over Norwich at Holman Stadiium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The Nashua Silver Knights begin a two-week stretch tonight in which they have nine home games, and just four bus rides to take before the July 21 All-Star game here at Historic Holman Stadium.

It will no doubt set the tone for the rest of the season.

What will make it a good stretch for the Silver Knights?

Pitching. And they need more of it.

It’s at the point in the FCBL season – halfway, literally, as Nashua (16-16) has played 32 games – where college coaches pre-season mandates are starting to take effect. If you’re wondering why Nashua starter Nigel Cross was pulled after three solid innings on Saturday, look no further than the above paragraph.

“Pitch counts, pitch limits,” Silver Knights manager Nick Guarino said. “He only has about 18 innings left, I’m trying to get them most I can out of him.”

So right now with Cross like the other starters going just once a week, Guarino is figuring quantity is important with just five weeks left in the season. So he’s looking at probably three innings per remaining start.

“Our goal is to go three innings with every start now, get five starts if we can, five or six starts,” the manager said. “So we can have him for a whole year. He wants to stay. But he’s at a hard cap of 100 (innings for his school season plus Nashua’s), and he’s at 80-something right now, so just trying to limit him as best I can so I can use him for as long as I can.”

Is the bullpen, short relief perhaps, a possibility instead?

“I can use him however I want, but I’ll take those three innings (at the start of a game),” he said. “That’s fine with me.”

Josh Florence, the team’s ace now, takes the mound tonight vs. Lowell (3-0, 1.89) and after that it gets interesting.

Tuesday the Knights host the first of back-to-back home games vs. Vermont, and will start a combo of Ty Lohsen and Matt Donovan. Lohsen tossed six shutout innings in his Nashua debut last week whileDonovan is a work in progress, a Roger Williams senior-to-be.

“He’s still on a pitch count,” Guarino said. “I’m trying to build him up as best I can. I might start him so he can get the starter buildup then go to Lohsen. Or vice-versa.”

Then righty Malcolm Klingler (1-3, 5.09) goes on Wednesday before the team has another day off on Thursday – their last one until the All-Star break.

STOLEN BASES

Is Guarino concerned teams are running on the Silver Knights? Is it that the league has seen an uptick in stolen base attempts?

Not with catcher Ben Peterson behind the plate.

“Go ahead, run on us,” Guarino said. “With Benny’s arm, I trust him to throw a guy out, he’s throwing at an 80 percent clip. So go ahead, run on Benny all day, I’ll take it.”

Proving that: Late in Saturday’s game, Norwich had the first and third play going, but Peterson was allowed to throw through – and got the out at second before the Sea Unicorns’ runner from third crossed the plate.

ATTENDANCE

Vermont has overtaken Lowell as the top drawing team thus far, averaging 2,390 paid fans per game, while Lowell is at 2,252. The Silver Knights are third at 1, 428. What’s interesting is each team is averaging four figures, even Westfield (1,081)…

Nashua doesn’t have a long busride until a week from Tuesday at Norwich. The Silver Knights are at Lowell on Saturday (5 p.m. start).