Threshers quiet Jays’ bats, take game two

Dunedin, FL – After scoring double-digit runs in back-to-back games, Dunedin’s bats went silent on Wednesday afternoon at TD Ballpark, as the Blue Jays fell 10-1 to Clearwater.

The game opened as a pitchers’ duel, as Dunedin starter Juaron Watts-Brown started the game with four-innings of one-run ball, with the lone blemish coming on a Jordan Viars RBI double in the top of the third.

Clearwater starter Micah Ottenbreit matched the effort and then some, retiring the first eight batters he faced, before working around two walks in the third inning. The righty eventually finished his outing with five no-hit innings and six strikeouts.

The score remained 1-0 Threshers until the top of the fifth, when Clearwater broke the game open with a seven-run, five-hit onslaught that brought 12 batters to the plate, making it 8-0. The Threshers tacked on another run in the sixth to push the lead to 9-0.

Dunedin remained hitless until the top of the seventh, when Yhoangel Aponte grounded a leadoff single through the middle of the infield off Jayden Estanista to end the no-hit bid.

After Clearwater used an RBI single from Avery Owuso-Asiedu to push the lead to 10-0 in the eighth, the Jays scratched across their first run of the game in the bottom half. Daniel Perez roped a leadoff triple, and eventually dashed home on a wild pitch to make it 10-1.

With the defeat, the Blue Jays are now 8-3 on the season, leading the FSL-West by a half game over Lakeland.

The series continues tomorrow evening in Dunedin, with first pitch set for 6:30pm. Fans can purchase tickets now at DunedinBlueJays.com.