Johnson's late-game HR not enough

GREENSBORO, N.C. (August 27, 2018) -- Osiris Johnson's seventh inning home run tied the game, but the BlueClaws jumped back in front in the eighth to beat the Grasshoppers, 2-1, on Monday night at First National Bank Field. Greensboro (23-37 Second Half, 57-72 Overall) suffered its seventh straight defeat.
With the game tied 1-1 heading into the eighth, Lakewood loaded the bases with no outs against Jeremy Ovalle. Greensboro's defense worked hard to keep the score level, as first baseman Garvis Lara fielded a Colby Fitch grounder and threw home for a force out -- the first out of the inning. Jose Antequera followed with a sacrifice-fly to left field, scoring Nick Maton for a 1-run advantage.
Hoppers starting pitcher Ethan Clark struck out eight batters while taking no decision, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing one run while working around four hits and four walks.
BlueClaws starter Will Stewart opened with 3.0 scoreless innings before being lifted from the game in a planned short start. Ismael Cabrera spun a scoreless fourth, and Damon Jones took over on the mound for Lakewood in the fifth. Jones (9-7) earned the win, tossing 4.0 innings, before Zach Warren pitched the ninth to earn the save (14). 
In the top of the sixth, Jake Scheiner led off with a triple and scored one batter later on Rodolfo Duran's RBI-single for a 1-0 BlueClaws lead. Clark bounced back, including striking out two batters, to keep the visiting team off the board for the remainder of the inning. 
Johnson, the Marlins second round pick from this June's First-Year Player Draft, stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh and smashed a solo homer (2) to right-center field, knotting the score at 1-1. 
The Grasshoppers continue this 4-game series against the BlueClaws on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at First National Bank Field. Gates open at 6:00 p.m., and tickets are available online at gsohoppers.com.