Comeback Falls Short In Threshers 6-5 Loss to Tarpons

BOX SCORE

CLEARWATER, FL - The Clearwater Threshers couldn't complete the comeback in a 6-5 defeat to the Tampa Tarpons in front of 3,005 at BayCare Ballpark on Saturday night.

Right-hander Gunner Mayer made his 10th start of the season for Clearwater, allowing three runs on only one hit with four walks and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. Mayer threw 54 pitches in the game, but only 26 were strikes.

The Tarpons (30-21, 57-60) opened the scoring with a three-run third inning, as an RBI double by Brett Barrera, a wild pitch and an RBI base knock by Spencer Jones made it 3-0.

With the bases loaded in the fourth, the Threshers (20-33, 55-63) pushed home two runs on a two-run single by Jamari Baylor to trim the deficit to 3-2. Baylor finished the contest an impressive 3-for-4 with three RBI.

Tampa responded immediately in the top of the fifth however, scoring three runs of their own on an RBI double by Antonio Gomez, a wild pitch and an RBI sac-fly from Ben Rice to make it 6-2. All three runs were charged to left-handed reliever Andrew Walling in his single-A debut.

Trailing 6-2, the Threshers inched closer with single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings to make it a 6-5. Wild pitches in the fifth and eighth, as well as an RBI single by Baylor in the sixth made it a one-run ballgame but it was the closest Clearwater would get.

Relievers Orion Kereking, Tristan Garnett and Alex Rao combined to work four scoreless and hitless innings with six strikeouts out of the bullpen for the Threshers, but the home team couldn't pull any closer in a 6-4 loss.

Clearwater will look to salvage a split of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. Lefty Jordan Fowler (2-0, 2.72 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Threshers, with coverage on the Threshers Broadcasting Network set to begin at 11:50 a.m.