Dunedin Scores Early to Pull Away with the 6-3 Victory

The Dunedin Blue Jays defeated the Charlotte Stone Crabs by the final score of 6-3 on a 98 degree Sunday evening in Dunedin, FL. With the win, the Jays take three of four from Charlotte and win their 15th series of the 2017 campaign.
Right out of the gate, the Blue Jays jumped out to an early lead off the RBI single to left field off the bat of Juan Kelly. Though the Stone Crabs loaded the bases in the top of the second with no one out, RHP Conor Fisk wiggled out of the jam and held Charlotte scoreless. 
Dunedin capitalized on that momentum by scoring two runs in the bottom of the second. With runners at the corners, J.C. Cardenas stepped to the dish and ripped a single back up the middle to score Michael De La Cruz. The next hitter Bo Bichette drove in a run with an RBI groundout to bring the score to Dunedin's advantage at 3-0.
Charlotte cracked the scoreboard in the top of the third. David Olmedo-Barrera drove in Peter Maris with a single scorched to right center. Two batter later, Nathaniel Lowe stroked a two run bomb over the wall in right center to tie the game at three apiece. 
The first tie of the series didn't last very long as the Blue Jays sent eight men to the plate, scoring three runs. Catcher Michael De La Cruz whacked a three run homerun over the fence in right field to give Dunedin the lead back at the count of 6-3.
Both teams were held scoreless for the rest of the frames. LHP Alonzo Gonzalez pitched two scoreless frames for his fourth hold of the year, and RHP Jackson McClelland shut things down in the ninth to pick up his fifth save of the season.
The lower third of the Charlotte batting order consisting of David Rodríguez, Jonah Heim, and Thomas Milone finished a combined 1-12 in the ballgame and hit just .237 as a group collectively in the series. On the flip side, Vladimir Guerrerro Jr, finished the series 6-13, smacking his first homerun as a Dunedin Blue Jay on Saturday night while also tallying three doubles. On the pitching side, the Blue Jays staff registered an ERA of 2.50 in the four game set.
In addition to outscoring their opponents 84-31 at home since July 19th, the Blue Jays are now 20-3 at their home ballpark in second half play and have now won 12 of the last 13 games at their yard since July 19th.  
Dunedin will take to the road for a seven game trip starting tomorrow evening in Daytona Beach with the Daytona Tortugas. LHP Tayler Saucedo (1-0, 4.40) will get the ball for the Jays, while Vladimir Gutierrez (1-0, 1.90) is the scheduled starter for Daytona. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.