Clearwater Pitching Holds Off Charlotte for Series-Clinching Victory

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Clearwater Threshers held off the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 2-1, in another tight game to take the series finale of a four-game set at Spectrum Field on Sunday afternoon. The win gives the Philadelphia Phillies affiliate their first series victory in the month of July, coming against the team with the best record in the league in the second half.

Clearwater (55-51, 19-21) took advantage of its opportunities in the first against the tough Charlotte (63-42, 28-11) right-hander Tommy Romero (9-3). Daniel Brito was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame and Simon Muzziotti singled to put runners at first and second with nobody out. After Romero got Jhailyn Ortiz to popout and Nick Maton to ground into a force out, Madison Stokes stepped up with a chance to drive in Brito.
The third baseman hit a groundball through the right side for a base hit to plate Brito from second and give the Threshers a 1-0 edge. Clearwater scored first for the second time in the series with Stokes' 36 RBI of the season.
The early advantage allowed Alejandro Requena (7-8) to settle into Sunday's contest. The 22-year-old allowed three hits through the first two frames, but didn't allow a baserunner from the third through the fifth. The native of Venezuela picked up six strikeouts through the first five for back-to-back six punchout performances.
Clearwater added another run in the third when Muzziotti led off against Romero with a double to right. Ortiz followed with a single to put runners at the corners for Maton. The left-hand batter lifted a fly ball to left to bring home Muzziotti with a sacrifice fly and a 2-0 lead.
Romero was saddled with a road loss for the first time in 2019 going five innings with seven hits and two runs allowed. The 22-year-old falls to 9-3 overall and 7-1 on the road for the Tampa Bay Rays' affiliate.
The Stone Crabs threatened against Requena in the sixth after Jermaine Palacios and Kevin Kiermaier reached to put runners on first and second with no outs. After getting Hernandez to lineout, Michael Smith lined a base hit to center to score Palacios and put Charlotte within one. Kaleo Johnsonn reached on a forceout at home and a Connor Hollis walk forced Requena out of the game.
Austin Ross entered and struck out Garrett Whitley to end the Charlotte threat and keep Clearwater's lead at 2-1.
The right-hander pitched 1.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts and no hits. The 24-year-old has struck out 11 Charlotte batters over four games of work against the club.
Tyler Carr replaced Ross in the eighth and picked up a scoreless frame with just a hit allowed. The active roster's ERA leader in the month of the July followed it up with a shutdown ninth by getting pinch-hitter Moises Gomez to flyout and end the game.
Carr secured a fourth save, and third in the month of July. The Threshers bullpen has converted six saves out of 12 chances in the month.
The Phillies' affiliate improves to 6-4 against the Stone Crabs and secured their second series victory over the club in 2019. The Threshers are 26-27 against teams from the FSL South division this season.
After the league-wide off day, the Threshers travel to take on the Florida Fire Frogs for a three-game set beginning Tuesday night at Osceola County Stadium. It is yet to be determined who will get the start in the series opener on Tuesday for either side. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. on Threshers Live! The Pregame Show at threshersbaseball.com.