T-Yanks Blank Marauders in Seven for 80th Win

TAMPA, Fla. -- A trio of Tampa pitchers combined for a one-hitter as the Yankees blanked the Marauders, 1-0 in seven innings, in game one of a doubleheader on Tuesday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Tampa (41-18, 80-49) reached the 80-win plateau for the first time since 2007.
Casey Hughston reached on catcher's interference and promptly stole second to begin the game, giving Bradenton (30-29, 67-59) an early scoring opportunity. Tampa starter Taylor Widener got a pair of pop-outs and a lineout to strand the runner.
Hoy Jun Park walked and Kyle Holder singled, placing runners on the corners to open the home half of the first. Before Marauders' starter Bret Helton could deliver a pitch to the next batter, rain began pouring down.
After an hour and 21-minute delay, RHP Sam Street entered in relief of Helton and the game resumed. One out later, Estevan Florial skied a sacrifice fly into centerfield, allowing Park to tag and score for a 1-0 Tampa lead.
RHP Jose Pena relieved Widener in the second and retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, stranding a pair of walks. Bradenton did not tally its first hit until the sixth, when Hughston led off by reaching on a dribbler down the third base line. A sacrifice bunt pushed Hughston to second before Peña got Will Craig to pop-out. RHP Joe Harvey completed the inning by getting Ty Moore to ground out.
Peña (W, 3-2) tossed a season-high four and two-third shutout innings, yielding one hit and two walks while striking out one. The 26-year-old threw 40 of a season-high 61 pitches for strikes.
Harvey (SV, 4) stranded a pair of walks, leaving runners at second and third by striking out Logan Ratledge to end the game.
Helton (L, 8-3) shouldered the loss for Bradenton after facing two batters, yielding an earned run on one hit and one walk. Street tossed a season-high five innings of relief, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five.
Holder (1-for-3) is on an eight-game hitting streak, batting .529 (18-for-34) in that span. Florial (1-for-2, Sac-F, RBI) tallied his ninth RBI in 15 games with Tampa.
Game two of Tuesday's doubleheader was postponed due to continuous rainfall following the conclusion of game one. Tampa and Bradenton will now conclude the series with a doubleheader on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. RHP Brian Keller (4-3, 2.73 ERA) will square off against RHP Pedro Vasquez (9-6, 3.37 ERA) in the opener, with the second pair of starters to be determined. As part of Wine Wednesday, fans can enjoy half priced wine from 6:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, call (813) 673-3055 or visit www.tybaseball.com.