Johnstone's Quality Start Not Enough in Series-Opening Loss

LAKELAND, Fla. (Aug. 17, 2018) - Connor Johnstone tossed the second consecutive quality start for the Florida Fire Frogs, but the right-hander's efforts were not enough in the 5-1, series opening-loss to the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on Friday night.

Florida (17-33, 46-70) jumped out to the early lead by piecing together three straight singles from Drew Waters (1x4, R), Riley Delgado (2x4) and CJ Alexander (2x4, RBI), but quickly fell behind by a run after Lakeland (31-21, 67-55) plated two runs in the bottom half of the frame against Johnstone (1-3).
The Wake Forest product recovered after the two-spot in the first by facing the minimum in the second, and retiring the side in order in both the third and fifth innings. The 23-year-old did allow a two-out rally in the sixth, with a double by Brock Deatherage and an RBI single from Jose Azocar to stretch the visitor's deficit to two.
Johnstone finished the night with three runs allowed across seven innings on eight hits, a walk and four strikeouts. The seven innings of work marked a career-high for the 6-foot-1 hurler.
Brandon White took over for the eighth, and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and an error.
Matt Manning (4-3) earned the win for the Flying Tigers, as the Detroit Tigers' third-ranked prospect (MLB.com) did not allow another hit after the first three batters. The right-hander struck out eight men on the night, while handing out one walk.
Florida will try to even up the three-game weekend set against Lakeland in game two on Saturday night at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. RHP Huascar Ynoa (1-2, 9.00) takes the bump for the Fire Frogs against big-league rehabber RHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., with coverage starting at 5:45 p.m. with the Florida Fire Frogs Pre-game Show on the Florida Fire Frogs Broadcasting Network.
About the Florida Fire Frogs
 
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
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