CLEARWATER, Fla. - Cornelius Randolph singled twice and worked a walk on Monday night to lead the offense, but the Threshers fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees before a full house of 9,729 fans at Spectrum Field.Clearwater (43-37, 5-5) settled for a series split, after the
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Cornelius Randolph singled twice and worked a walk on Monday night to lead the offense, but the Threshers fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees before a full house of 9,729 fans at Spectrum Field.
Clearwater (43-37, 5-5) settled for a series split, after the Yankees (46-34, 7-3) rallied to take the last two games of the four-game set.
Cord Sandberg was hit by a pitch in the ninth to extend his on-base streak to 18 games, the longest such run for a Thresher this season. Randolph finished 2-for-3 and has now reached in 15 consecutive games.
José Taveras took the loss despite a solid outing, working seven innings of three-run ball. Taveras (5-4) permitted a pair of homers accounting for all three of Tampa's runs. He scattered six hits and two walks, recording six strikeouts.
Nick Solak's solo shot in the second opened the scoring, bumping Tampa ahead 1-0.
Clearwater brought it back even in the fifth.
After Randolph opened the inning with a knock to center, Luis Encarnacion came through with two outs, lacing a double to the warning track in right-center to score Randolph and tie the game at one.
Trey Amburgey put the Yankees back in front an inning later, driving a two-run homer to dead center to make it 3-1 Tampa.
Clearwater crept closer in the eighth, when Encarnacion greeted Jose Pena with a single, and Grenny Cumana pulled one through the right side.
Mark Laird knocked a two-strike pitch to right-center for a single, scoring Encarnacion to cut the deficit to one. Cumana attempted to go first to third on the play, but Amburgey came up with a strong throw from center to nab Cumana at third.
After Emmanuel Marrero drew a walk to put the tying run in scoring position, Andrew Schwaab entered and induced the final two outs. Clearwater again threatened against him in the ninth when Deivi Grullon singled and Sandberg was hit by a pitch, but Schwaab struck out both Encarnacion and Cumana to end the game.
Clearwater will head to Daytona to open a three-game series on Independence Day, with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Harold Arauz (2-0) is scheduled to take the hill in the series opener.
