DUNEDIN, Fla. -- After losing five of their last seven games, the Tampa Tarpons (28-26) began the month of June with an onslaught of seven extra-base hits to defeat the Dunedin Blue Jays (20-31), 6-3, in the series-opener on Friday night at Dunedin Stadium.Alexander Palma paced the offense by reaching
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- After losing five of their last seven games, the Tampa Tarpons (28-26) began the month of June with an onslaught of seven extra-base hits to defeat the Dunedin Blue Jays (20-31), 6-3, in the series-opener on Friday night at Dunedin Stadium.
Alexander Palma paced the offense by reaching base four times and falling a single shy of the cycle.
Diego Castillo reached second with one out in the first when a high pop-up dropped beside centerfield Joshua Palacios. Palma jumped on the first pitch he saw from Dunedin starter Tayler Saucedo and drilled an RBI double off the left field wall.
The Blue Jays quickly answered when Eduard Pinto doubled, advanced on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Smith, tying the game in the home half of the first.
That proved to be the only run allowed by Tampa starter Adonis Rosa (W, 5-1). The right-hander held Dunedin to one earned run on five hits in five innings, walking two while striking out four and threw 52 of 78 pitches for strikes.
Hoy Jun Park legged out an infield single to begin the second and proceeded to steal second before advancing to third on a missed catch error by Smith at shortstop. One out later, Dom Thompson-Williams walked and both runners advanced on a balk by Saucedo. Thompson-Williams later scored on a two-out triple by Ben Ruta , giving the Tarpons a 3-1 lead.
Palma blasted an opposite field home run over the right field wall to lead off the third. It was Palma's second homer in four nights and his third of the season.
Saucedo (L, 3-3) logged his shortest outing of the season, yielding four runs (three earned) on four hits in two and two-third innings. The southpaw walked one, struck out three and threw 35 of 54 pitches for strikes.
Leading off the fifth, Palma smacked a triple off the right field wall for his third extra-base hit of the night. Isiah Gilliam followed with a singled into right, giving Tampa a 5-1 cushion.
LHP Justin Kamplain relieved Rosa in the sixth and retired the first four batters he faced before running into a jam in the seventh.
Rodrigo Orozco doubled and John La Prise walked, putting two on with one out. Pinto singled into center, scoring Orozco. La Prise ran for third on the play, but was thrown out by Thompson-Williams. Nash Knight followed with an RBI double, scoring Pinto to bring the tying run to the plate.
LHP Trevor Lane entered and Smith reached on a hit-by-pitch. A wild pitch by Lane pushed both runners into scoring position, but Lane struck out Bradley Jones to escape the threat.
Tampa tacked on an insurance run in the ninth when Ruta reached on a two-base error by La Prise and scored, two outs later, on a double by Gilliam.
Dunedin put the leadoff man aboard with a walk in the eighth and an error in the ninth, but a pair of double plays helped Lane (SV, 2) face the minimum in each inning.
RHP Yennsy Diaz pitched the final six innings for the Blue Jays, holding the Tarpons to two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk. The right-hander tallied four strikeouts and threw 61 of 90 pitches for strikes in his first relief appearance since 2016.
Palma (3-for-4, HR, 3B, 2B, BB, 2RBI, 2R) logged his fifth three-hit game of the season, raising his batting average to .331 (44-for-133). Gilliam (2-for-5, 2B, 2RBI) and Park (2-for-4, 2B, R, SB) also notched multi-hit games.
The Tarpons will look to secure the series in the middle game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. RHP Albert Abreu (2-1, 4.91) will make the start against RHP Patrick Murphy (2-4, 4.28). Live play-by-play audio will be available on the Tarpons Radio Network.
