Blue Jays win bullpen battle to edge out CLR

Cole, Jackson, McFarland and Sikula retire final 15 hitters in order

By Tyler Murray and Al Hernandez

April 26, 2014

CLEARWATER, FL - The Blue Jays (17-5) took advantage of another stellar pitching performance to defeat the Clearwater Threshers (5-17) by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night at Brighthouse Field.

The Threshers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Pete Lavin doubled with one out. Harold Martinez then hit a ball through SS Emilio Guerrero, which was ruled a hit. Martinez ended up on first, and Lavin advanced to third. Following a strikeout, Willie Carmona drove in the game's first run with an infield single to 1B K.C. Hobson.

The Blue Jays answered the following inning, however. C Mike Reeves singled with one out in the fifth. A wild pitch then allowed Reeves to advance two bases. LF Dwight Smith, Jr. drove Reeves in with a two-out single to centerfield, tying the game.

The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the eighth inning. Smith began the inning with a double. CF Dalton Pompey then singled into left field, plating Smith and taking the 2-1 lead.

RHP Taylor Cole got the start, and held the Threshers to one run on five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts over six innings. He now leads the Florida State League with 40 strikeouts.

Cole allowed a leadoff double in the fifth inning, but stranded it by retiring the next three hitters he faced. In fact, he combined with RHP Justin Jackson (W, 2-0) RHP Blake McFarland (H, 1) and RHP Arik Sikula (S, 7) to retire the final 15 Thresher hitters in order. Jackson and Sikula each struck out one hitter in their perfect frames, while McFarland got two Ks in a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Clearwater starter Jon Prosinski went seven innings, holding the Blue Jays to one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Reliever Kevin Walter (L, 0-1) gave up the decisive run in the eighth before tossing a perfect ninth.

The Blue Jays will look to win their seventh-straight series to open the season in tomorrow afternoon's finale as RHP Ben White (1-0, 2.70 ERA) takes on RHP Miguel Nunez (1-2, 5.48 ERA) at 1:00 p.m. in Dunedin.