Clemens Kicks Off Big Fourth Inning With First FSL Homer

The Dunedin Blue Jays picked up their third consecutive victory on Friday evening at Dunedin Stadium, using Kacy Clemens' first Florida State League home run and a lockdown performance from their bullpen to defeat the Fort Myers Miracle 4-3.
After the two teams traded runs in the first inning, Travis Blankenhorn homering for Fort Myers and Bradley Jones knocking an RBI double for Dunedin, Kacy Clemens drilled his first home run in the Florida State League, a towering shot into the palm trees beyond the right-centerfield fence at Dunedin Stadium. 
"I worked myself into a three-one count and got a fastball out over the plate," Clemens said post-game about the at-bat. "I had just missed a fastball earlier in the count, pulled off a little bit, so I was just trying to stay through the middle of the field and put a good swing on it."
In a you-can't-write-this-stuff kind of moment, Kacy's father, 7x Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, was live on the air with Blue Jays broadcaster Jim Tarabocchia providing color commentary when Kacy went deep. 
"It's awesome having my parents here for me tonight," Kacy said after the game. "Most people see my dad as the competitor he was between the lines, but for me, he's dad. He's having fun being dad now, chasing my little brother who plays for Texas and chasing me, watching our games."
The home run put Dunedin up 2-1, but the offense didn't stop there. Riley Adams followed by doubling to left. After a strike out put two outs on the scoreboard, Ivan Castillo doubled down the right field line, scoring Adams. Rodrigo Orozco followed by driving a ground ball through the right side of the infield for a single, scoring Castillo and increasing Dunedin's lead to 4-1.
After allowing the first inning home run to Blankenhorn, Dunedin starting pitcher Patrick Murphy kept Fort Myers from scoring again until the fifth inning. With two down in the fifth, Mark Contreras and Joe Cronin both worked walks for the Miracle. Blankenhorn did the damage again, dropping a single into shallow center, scoring Contreras and cutting the Jays lead to 4-2.
Fort Myers threatened to tie the game in the sixth, but quality bullpen work preserved Dunedin's lead. Singles by Jimmy Kerrigan, Jared Foster, and a walk to Caleb Hamilton loaded up the bases with just one out, forcing Murphy from the game. Lefty Travis Bergen entered looking to work out of the bases loaded jam. Bergen induced a ground out to Clemens at first for the second out of the inning, although a run scored on the play to pull Fort Myers within one at 4-3 with the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Bergen ended the inning and the threat by getting Contreras to fly out to center.
With the one-run lead, Bergen threw 2.2 shutout innings, allowing no hits or walks while striking out three. With the three K's tonight, Bergen has now struck out 24 batters in just 14.2 innings on the mound this season, good for an impressive 14.8 K/9 ratio.
Nick Hartman entered for the Blue Jays in the ninth inning looking to lock down the save and delivered. He struck out the first batter of the inning and then recorded two fly outs to close out the game. The save was Hartman's first of the season and his second career save in a Dunedin uniform.
Murphy was credited with the win, his second of the season. He finished with a line of 5.1 innings pitched, six hits, three runs allowed, and seven strikeouts. With seven K's, Murphy tied his career high set in 2017 in Lansing and set a new personal best with Dunedin.
Offensively, the Jays knocked nine hits, over half of which were extra base knocks. Nash Knight was the only Dunedin batter with multiple hits, going 2-4 in the game. Jones, Adams, Castillo, and Eduard Pinto each doubled.
The win propels Dunedin into a tie for third place in the North Division standings at 14-20 The Blue Jays sit 4.5 games behind Tampa for second place and 8.0 games behind Daytona for first. The Blue Jays and the Miracle will finish their three-game series tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM at Dunedin Stadium. Trevor May will start for Fort Myers on a Major League rehab assignment. The Dunedin starting pitcher is not yet decided.
Tomorrow's game will also be Mascot Night. Fans of all ages will be able to meet reigning Mascot Mania Champion DJay, Dunedin's mascot, as well as numerous other local mascots at the game. The mascots will hold an autograph signing during the game, kids will be able to run the bases after the game, and every Saturday night at Dunedin Stadium is a Jays Win, You Win Saturday.