WASHINGTON -- Triple-A Rochester Red Wings right-hander Cory Abbott dominated with 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the St. Paul Saints on Friday. 

Abbott had a no-hitter going through five frames. He gave up a double in the first at-bat of the sixth, and he finished the outing with one hit and three walks allowed. 

“He’s got to pound the strike zone,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said on Saturday. “When he does that, you saw what he could do. He was really good yesterday.”

Abbott, 27, appeared in 16 games for the Nats last season, including nine starts. He was with the team in Spring Training until he was optioned to Triple-A in mid-March. Abbott went 1-3 in his first four starts with Rochester this season, and he had allowed six runs in his previous outing before locking in on Friday.

“Good for him,” Martinez said. “He’s been struggling. To come out and do what he did was awesome. Hopefully, he gets on track here, and he starts pitching well.”

The Nationals, in the middle of a seven-game homestand, likely will need to identify another starter after their series opener against the Pirates on Friday was rained out, and they played a doubleheader on Saturday. Abbott’s next start lines up to be Wednesday, when the Nats are hosting the Cubs, his former club.

“We’ll probably need somebody, but we haven’t talked about that yet,” Martinez said.

Triple-A Rochester
Second baseman Darren Baker has connected for 11 multi-hit games this season, including a 2-for-2 performance on Saturday against St. Paul. Entering Sunday, he was tied for sixth-most hits in the Minor Leagues (32).

Double-A Harrisburg 
Righty reliever Orlando Ribalta improved to 2-1 when he earned the win on Saturday against the Somerset Patriots. In his sixth outing of the season, Ribalta threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. 

High-A Wilmington
The Nationals’ No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 15 overall, outfielder James Wood, recorded three hits, one home run and three RBIs in the Blue Rocks’ doubleheader against the Aberdeen IronBirds on Saturday. Wood is slashing .297/.342/.531 through in his first 18 games this season.

Single-A Fredericksburg
Outfielder Roismar Quintana, ranked as the Nationals’ No. 17 prospect, belted a grand slam in the FredNats’ 13-4 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats on Thursday. Quintana’s slam also was his first homer of the season.