Clearwater Holds Off Jupiter Late to Win Series Opener

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Clearwater Threshers escaped late-inning rallies from the Jupiter Hammerheads to close out a 5-4 victory in the opener of a four-game series at Spectrum Field on Monday night. The victory, paired with a Dunedin Blue Jays loss, climbs the Philadelphia Phillies affiliate within 4.5 games of first place with 10 games remaining in the first half.

The game was close from the start, as the Hammerheads (17-37) struck in the first with an RBI single from Lazaro Alonso. The Threshers (30-27) answered right back in the bottom of the frame with a Matt Vierling sacrifice fly to score Simon Muzziotti.
Muzziotti returned from the Injured List with a 2-for-4 performance with a double and a run scored. The All-Star swiped his eighth bag of the season in the first inning.
Right-hander Alejandro Requena (4-3) was given a lead in the third when Daniel Brito lifted a ball over the right field wall to make it a 2-1 game.
The Hammerheads plated a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth off Requena to grab the lead, but the Threshers would not trail for long. The home team scored three runs in the fifth on a Jhailyn Ortiz single and a Matt Kroon infield hit. An error from Jupiter third baseman James Nelson allowed a second run to score on the infield single from Kroon to make it 5-3.
Jupiter started the eighth against Kyle Arjona with a double and an error from Guthrie. After a sacrifice bunt, Arjona would exit and lefty Keylan Killgore took over on the mound. The southpaw allowed an RBI hit to Víctor Víctor Mesa to make it 5-4. After a strikeout and a walk, 22-year-old got Lazaro Alonso swinging to preserve the lead.
Killgore finished off the game by striking out the side in the ninth. The Wichita State product struck out five of the last six batters he faced to pick up his fifth save in as many tries. The 6-foot-3 hurler pitched the final 1.2 frames, allowing a hit and a walk with five punchouts.
The Threshers backed their starter Alejandro Requena, who earned the win with 5.1 frames of work with two earned runs and five strikeouts. The native of Venezuela matched his win total from last season in four less starts.
With the win, the Threshers improve to 5-0 over the Miami Marlins' affiliate in 2019. They improved to 16-7 against teams under .500. Killgore's save pushed the Philadelphia Phillies' affiliate record to 25-1 when leading after eight.
Clearwater continues the series with Jupiter on Tuesday night at Spectrum Field. RHP Andrew Brown (2-3 6.21) will toe the rubber for the Threshers against Hammerhead LHP Braxton Garrett (1-3 2.90). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. on threshersbaseball.com.
Tuesday night brings another Dollar Tuesday to Spectrum Field. Berm tickets are just $1 and available at walk-up. The special also includes $1 hot dogs, 16oz fountain sodas, chips and more.