Steele sharp in 5-0 Miracle shutout of Charlotte
Keaton Steele and Raul Fernandez combine to blank the Crabs
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (April 29, 2016) - Starter Keaton Steele dealt seven scoreless frames of one-hit baseball to guide the Fort Myers Miracle to a 5-0 shutout of the Charlotte Stone Crabs at Charlotte Sports Park on Friday night.
Steele (1-2) faced just three over the minimum despite three walks and only Cade Gotta reached on a hit for the Stone Crabs; an infield single in the second inning. Steele retired 10 in a row before exiting the game. 11 of the 21 outs recorded by Steele were on the ground and only three outs were made in the outfield.
Raul Fernandez completed the shutout with two scorelesss frames in the eighth and ninth. Fernandez did allow a single in the ninth for Charlotte's only other hit of the evening. The Stone Crabs did not have a runner reach second base.
The Miracle plated two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Chris Paul reached base after hitting a slow roller to shortstop that was booted by Alex Sole. Nick Gordon then ripped a first pitch from Stone Crabs starter Hunter Wood down the first base line for a double. Paul advanced to third. Trey Vavra drove in the first run of the game with an RBI ground out to second base. Paul trotted home and Gordon moved to third. Alex Swim followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Gordon and put the Miracle up a pair, 2-0.
In the top of the seventh, the Miracle doubled the lead. With one out, Swim bounced a single through the right side. Max Murphy stepped in and laced a base hit to center field. Wood (1-2) then walked Logan Wade to load the bases. Edgar Corcino hit into a force play that retired Swim at home for the second out and Wood exited the game. Yoel Espinal entered the game out of the Crabs pen. Kevin Garcia jumped on the first pitch from Espinal and lined a base hit into right field. Two runs scored as Murphy and Wade crossed home plate and extended the Miracle lead to 4-0.
Wade added a solo home run off Espinal in the ninth. On a 3-2 pitch, Wade launched a long blast over the Charlotte bullpen in right field to push the Miracle advantage to 5-0. The Miracle have now homered in three consecutive games.
Against the Charlotte, the Miracle have recorded three consecutive shutouts going back to the final two games of the series at Hammond Stadium on April 23 and April 24. The Miracle have held the Stone Crabs off the board for 32 straight innings over the last four meetings between the two teams.
The Miracle (13-9) return to Charlotte Sports Park on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. start against the Stone Crabs (10-12). Felix Jorge (1-1) is expected to start for the Miracle against Brenton Moss (0-1) for Charlotte. The game will not be broadcast on MiracleBaseball.com.
Steele (1-2) faced just three over the minimum despite three walks and only Cade Gotta reached on a hit for the Stone Crabs; an infield single in the second inning. Steele retired 10 in a row before exiting the game. 11 of the 21 outs recorded by Steele were on the ground and only three outs were made in the outfield.
Raul Fernandez completed the shutout with two scorelesss frames in the eighth and ninth. Fernandez did allow a single in the ninth for Charlotte's only other hit of the evening. The Stone Crabs did not have a runner reach second base.
The Miracle plated two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Chris Paul reached base after hitting a slow roller to shortstop that was booted by Alex Sole. Nick Gordon then ripped a first pitch from Stone Crabs starter Hunter Wood down the first base line for a double. Paul advanced to third. Trey Vavra drove in the first run of the game with an RBI ground out to second base. Paul trotted home and Gordon moved to third. Alex Swim followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Gordon and put the Miracle up a pair, 2-0.
In the top of the seventh, the Miracle doubled the lead. With one out, Swim bounced a single through the right side. Max Murphy stepped in and laced a base hit to center field. Wood (1-2) then walked Logan Wade to load the bases. Edgar Corcino hit into a force play that retired Swim at home for the second out and Wood exited the game. Yoel Espinal entered the game out of the Crabs pen. Kevin Garcia jumped on the first pitch from Espinal and lined a base hit into right field. Two runs scored as Murphy and Wade crossed home plate and extended the Miracle lead to 4-0.
Wade added a solo home run off Espinal in the ninth. On a 3-2 pitch, Wade launched a long blast over the Charlotte bullpen in right field to push the Miracle advantage to 5-0. The Miracle have now homered in three consecutive games.
Against the Charlotte, the Miracle have recorded three consecutive shutouts going back to the final two games of the series at Hammond Stadium on April 23 and April 24. The Miracle have held the Stone Crabs off the board for 32 straight innings over the last four meetings between the two teams.
The Miracle (13-9) return to Charlotte Sports Park on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. start against the Stone Crabs (10-12). Felix Jorge (1-1) is expected to start for the Miracle against Brenton Moss (0-1) for Charlotte. The game will not be broadcast on MiracleBaseball.com.