It was an afternoon of exciting baseball at Jack Russell Stadium for the series finale against the Stone Crabs, and the final home series for Dunedin before the All-Star break. For the second day in a row the starting pitcher for Dunedin had a tough start to the game. Turner
It was an afternoon of exciting baseball at Jack Russell Stadium for the series finale against the Stone Crabs, and the final home series for Dunedin before the All-Star break. For the second day in a row the starting pitcher for Dunedin had a tough start to the game. Turner Larkins gave up a leadoff single to start the game, but Chris Bec picked him up by catching the runner attempting to steal second. It was MLB rehabber, Joey Wendle, who opened the scoring for the Stone Crabs with a solo home run to right field. A single and double by Moises Gomez brought the lead to 2-0 before the Blue Jays came to bat.
The Stone Crabs extended their lead in the second after a leadoff triple by Joey Roach led to a sacrifice fly by Zach Rutherford. In the bottom of the inning, Chavez Young brought the Blue Jays within two off a line drive home run to right field to lead off the 2nd inning. Dunedin kept their scoring going with a big 4th inning. Chris Bec singled and stole second, one of his two stolen bases on the day. Chavez Young continued his big day with a double in the gap to drive home Bec. Young also had two huge defensive plays in centerfield robbing Joey Wendle of a hit in the 3rd inning and again making a diving catch in the 7th off of Carl Chester. Demi Orimoloye tied the game up for Dunedin with a single through the hole at shortstop to score a speedy Chavez Young.
Turner Larkins settled in for the Blue Jays through his four innings of work, but he had one more misstep in the 5th that led to a 4-3 lead for Charlotte after a Carl Chester single. Larkins' offense would fight back for him in the 7th to pick up their starting pitcher. Kacy Clemens began the inning with a bunt against the shift of the Stone Crabs to record the easy base hit and begin a rally. Kevin Vicuña doubled to put two runners in scoring position with a chance at the lead. A wild pitch by Justin Marsden, and heads up base running by Kacy Clemens tied the game at four. Cal Stevenson hit a blooper into right-center field to push across the go-ahead run, and the Blue Jays never looked back. A Logan Warmoth walk, and a Chavez Young single manufactured another run, while Norberto Obeso finished the scoring in the inning to take the lead to 8-4. The Blue Jays sent nine batters to the plate with six hits in the inning, and five total runs came across.
The big inning has been a calling card for this offense during the first half of the year, and the backend of the bullpen has been just as important to the success of the team. Brad Wilson came in the 8th inning making quick work of the Stone Crabs with two strikeouts and a pop out. Wilson came out to finish what he started in the 9th inning, and he ran into some trouble. A couple of errors and timely hitting from Charlotte got the lead to 8-6 with two outs. Russ Olive made it a one-run game with a single to left field, but Cal Stevenson thought he ended it with another assist to get Carl Chester at third. The umpire called him safe, and the inning went on. The next better hit a single back up the middle looking like it may find the hole, but Kevin Vicuna made the spectacular play with a spin and throw to first to seal the win and a split of the series.
Dunedin travels to Bradenton to take on the Bradenton Marauders, who are currently in a tight playoff race in the heated South Division. The first game of the series begins at 6:30 PM on Friday.
