Cardinals sweep doubleheader against Tarpons 

TAMPA, Fla. – Well, that did not go according to plan.

The Palm Beach Cardinals (24-31) capitalized on a lack of production by the Tampa Tarpons (24-33) to sweep the doubleheader Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Both contests were extremely close, but the deciding factor ultimately came down to limited production at the plate. Over the course of both games, Tampa was only able to muster up three total runs over 12 hits.

GAME 1

The Tarpons were seemingly in control of game one up until the Cardinals’ fifth inning outburst to flip the script. RHP Chandler Champlain (1-4) drew the opening start for Tampa and was cruising through the first four innings until Palm Beach produced three runs on five base hits to chase him from the game. The young right hander finished the game surrendering three runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings pitched.

Tampa struck first in the bottom of the third, stringing together a series of singles to post a couple of runs. With two outs, CF Jasson Dominguez reached base via the free pass. C Antonio Gomez singled on a line drive to right field which moved Dominguez to third. Next up, 3B Marcos Cabrera drove the first pitch he saw to left field for an RBI single to score Dominguez. The Tarpons added another run off the bat of SS Ben Cowles, who ripped one up the middle to plate Cabrera.

With a two-run lead heading into the fifth, all the Tarpons needed to do was avoid “the inning”. Baseball fans know exactly what I am talking about - that inning where everything seemingly goes wrong after everything has been going right.

Unfortunately, the Tarpons were unable to avoid “the inning” in game one.

Champlain took the mound to begin the top half of the fifth and failed to keep the Cardinals off the board.

It started with a single by Brandon Hernandez, who advanced to second base on a single by Adanson Cruz. Darlin Moquete added a single of his own and suddenly the Cardinals were cooking with gas. Osvaldo Tovalin, an absolute thorn in Tampa’s side all series, drove in Hernandez on a base hit that found a hole on the right side. A self-inflicted mistake tied things at two a-piece as Champlain spiked a wild pitch in the dirt to advance the runners. Finally, Brady Whalen drove in the go-ahead run by sneaking a seeing-eye single into left.

That would spell the end of Champlain’s day as manager Rachel Balkovec tabbed RHP Jack Neely to keep the contest close. Neely has been an expert in strike outs this season and continued to fuel that narrative by fanning four Cardinals over 1.2IP. RHP Enrique Santana came in and recorded the final two outs for Tampa.

The Tarpons would come up empty in the bottom of the seventh and lose the opener 3-2.

GAME 2

Looking to avenge their game one loss, Tampa sent out RHP Zach Messinger (0-4) to turn things around in game two and split the doubleheader.

Messinger was solid in the beginning but was chased early by Palm Beach in the top of the third inning. Elijah Campbell started things off with a full count walk before advancing to second on a line drive single by Leonardo Bernal. Both runners tagged on a fly ball to right field to put two runners in scoring position with one out. The dangerous Osvaldo Tovalin stepped up to the plate next in a pivotal spot but could not bring in the runners. Messinger dug deep into his bag of tricks and fanned Tovalin on six pitches. Brady Whalen was awarded a free pass to load the bases with two outs, which led manager Rachel Balkovec to make a change.

RHP Danny Watson entered the game in need of only one out to get Tampa out of the jam. Instead, Matt Chamberlain laced an RBI single to RF Raimfer Salinas to score both Campbell and Bernal. Salinas threw home to try to cut Bernal down at the plate, but the throw was not in time.

Both runs were earned and credited to Messinger, who also allowed two hits and two walks over 2.2 innings of work.

The Tarpons responded in the bottom of the fourth – 3B Marcos Cabrera singled, followed by CF Alan Mejia who laced an RBI double down the third base line. Determined to cut down the deficit, Cabrera turned on the jets and scored all the way from first base to tighten the gap, 2-1.

It was the first and only run scored by Tampa in game two.

While the Tarpons may have liked to see some more offensive production, they could not ask for much more out of their bullpen.

Balkovec deployed RHP Bailey Dees, LHP Ryan Anderson, and RHP Harold Cortijo after Watson finished up the fourth.

The three relievers combined to toss three scoreless innings, striking out a total of six Cardinals.

Sunday’s doubleheader wrapped up the season series between the Tarpons and Cardinals, with Palm Beach securing the series win, 4-2. Tampa returns to action Tuesday night, as the Tarpons travel to St. Lucie to face off against the Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PM EST.