Leiter Hurls Gem in 7-0 Win at Palm Beach

Mark Leiter Jr. spun a season-high eight shutout innings on Thursday night, leading the Clearwater Threshers to a 7-0 victory in the series opener at Palm Beach.

Leiter (3-0) lowered his ERA to 1.30, and has surrendered just one run in his last 21.2 innings. The right-hander held the Cardinals to six hits and one walk while racking up six strikeouts.

Andrew Knapp capped the Clearwater scoring by belting his first home run of the season in the ninth inning. His three-run shot to left opened up a 7-0 lead for the Threshers.

Knapp would finish the night with four RBI - the highest single-game total for a Thresher this season.

The teams traded zeroes until the fourth inning, when Clearwater brought home two runs against Palm Beach starter Will Anderson (1-2).

With one out, Dylan Cozens singled up the middle and Willians Astudillo reached on an error by shortstop Juan Herrera. Aaron Brown made the Cardinals pay for the miscue by lining a double to right to get Clearwater on the board. Angelo Mora made it 2-0, bringing home Astudillo with a single to right.

Knapp extended the advantage to 3-0 an inning later, coming through with a two-out single to plate JP Crawford from second. Cozens tacked on a fourth run by sending a double to center to bring home Knapp.

The Threshers tallied 13 hits on Thursday, with Crawford and Cozens each turning in three-hit performances.

Clearwater (20-21) will look to move back to .500 on Friday as David Whitehead (2-5) toes the rubber opposed by Jimmy Reed (2-2). First pitch is set for 10:35 a.m.