Six-run first propels Stone Crabs to sixth straight

PORT CHAROTTE, Fla. (August 11, 2018) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs used a six-run rally in the first inning to win their sixth straight game with a 10-8 victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays Saturday at Charlotte Sports Park.
The Stone Crabs (64-50, 30-17) would open the scoring right out of the gates. Vidal Brujan  led off the bottom of the first with an infield single. He then stole second before scoring on a double to left by Brendan McKay , making the score 1-0. Robbie Tenerowicz then singled to right and put runners on the corners. The bases were then loaded after a walk to Tristan Gray . Then with one out, Kevin Padlo  rocketed a bases-clearing double to deep left center to make the score 4-0. Padlo advanced to third on a deep fly ball to center by Joey Roach . The score was then made 5-0 after a sharply hit single to center by Jermaine Palacios . Miles Mastrobuoni then stroked a double off the right field wall to score Palacios and cap the inning at 6-0.
The Blue Jays (60-57, 29-20) responded and made the score 6-1 on a groundout by Rodrigo Orozco in the top of the fourth.
Still leading 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Brujan singled with one out. McKay then reached on a fielding error to move Brujan to second. Brujan then stole third base and scored on a single from Tenerowicz. Gray followed by singling to right to score McKay and give the Stone Crabs an 8-1 lead. 
The Stone Crabs made the lead 9-1 after a double from Padlo in the sixth scored Gray.
Dunedin responded with a run on their own when Josh Palacios scored on a wild pitch to make the score 9-2 going in to the bottom of the seventh. Tenerowicz doubled to left in the bottom of the frame to make the score 10-2 Charlotte.
The Blue Jays scored six runs over the next two innings, but Ivan Pelaez  got the final out with the tying run on base in the ninth to earn his fourth save, giving the Stone Crabs a 10-8 win.
Chaz Roe worked a scoreless first in his second rehab outing. Brian Shaffer  (1-0) worked the bulk of the innings, going five innings while giving up one run on six hits.
The Stone Crabs will look to finish off a perfect homestand Sunday by sending southpaw Josh Fleming  (1-1, 3.25) to the mound to face right-hander Patrick Murphy (8-4, 2.74) of Dunedin. Coverage begins at 12:20 p.m. with first pitch scheduled for 12:35 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.