Clearwater rallies late to take down Tampa, 4-2
TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Tarpons suffered another late game collapse, dropping Friday’s contest to the Clearwater Threshers at GMS Field, 4-2. Tampa was in cruise control seemingly throughout the entire game, until Clearwater plated two runs in the seventh, and an additional insurance run in the eighth. LHP Brock
TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Tarpons suffered another late game collapse, dropping Friday’s contest to the Clearwater Threshers at GMS Field, 4-2. Tampa was in cruise control seemingly throughout the entire game, until Clearwater plated two runs in the seventh, and an additional insurance run in the eighth.
LHP Brock Selvidge (4.0IP, 3H, ER, 2BB, 5K) opened the game on the rubber for the Tarpons and was solid through four innings.
Selvidge struggled out of the gate to find his command and found himself in some early trouble in the top half of the first. Gabriel Rincones Jr. ripped his 2-2 offering down the rightfield line for a double and swiped third base with ease. With Rincones Jr. ninety feet away, Caleb Ricketts slapped a sharp grounder to third. 3B Brenny Escanio made an impressive scoop and instead of going to first, made a heads-up play by turning to tag out Rincones Jr. as he tried diving back to the bag. Two wild pitches in a row from Selvidge moved Ricketts to third. Otto Kemp walked on four pitches, and Jordan Viars also drew a four-pitch free pass to load the bases. Selvidge gathered himself and struck out Bryan Rincon to get out of the jam.
The Threshers drew first blood with two outs in the top of the second inning. Freylin Minyety smoked a ground ball single the opposite way and stole second base to move into scoring position. Ricardo Rosario, making his Single-A debut for Clearwater, drove Minyety home by slapping an RBI-single up the middle to take a 1-0 lead.
The Tarpons struck back in the home half of the third inning. 1B Omar Martinez singled on a line drive to center field, and Escanio lined a single to right. With two men on and two out, DH Ben Rortvedt roped a ground ball directly at Cole Moore. Clearwater’s first baseman was able to get a glove on it, but the ball trickled out of his mitt into right field to score Martinez and knot things at one apiece.
Fast forward to the bottom of the fifth, CF Alan Mejia showed off the wheels and legged out double to get things started. Jean Cabrera (1-0) tried to pick Mejia off but his throw soared into center field to move Mejia ninety feet closer to home. The Tarpons capitalized on the error, as Escanio dropped a blooper just over the head of Rincon at short to score Mejia and put the Tarpons up, 2-1.
Tampa cruised all the way until the seventh inning and looked to have the game on lock – too bad Rincon had other plans. On the first pitch he saw from RHP Shane Gray (0-1), the Threshers’ short stop crushed an absolute no-doubter over the right field fence. His first home run of the season tied the game at two apiece. Moore worked a full count walk and Minyety hit a line drive double to right field to put runners on second and third. Ricardo Rosario lifted a SAC-fly to Mejia in centerfield for his 2nd RBI of the night to give Clearwater a 3-2 advantage.
Viars added an insurance run for Clearwater in the eighth by driving RHP Matt Keating’s offering off the right field foul pole.
Tampa went down quietly in the ninth and have now lost three of their last four games.
The Tarpons will look to right the ship when they return to action tomorrow night against the Clearwater Threshers for game five of their six game series. RHP Sean Hermann (1-1) is slated to make the Saturday evening start with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 PM EST.