Tampa pummels Clearwater with long-awaited Offensive Explosion

TAMPA, Fla. - Tonight’s game was a “walk in the park” for the Tampa Tarpons (5-6), defeating the Clearwater Threshers (6-5) at George M. Steinbrenner Field, 10-2.

CF Nelson Medina reached base four times, leading Tampa to victory. LHP Will Brian (3.2IP, 2H, 2R, 4BB, 2K) took the mound for Tampa, keeping hitters off balance with his sinker-breaking ball mix. Brian utilized his sinker 51% of the time while throwing breaking balls 34% of the time. His night was cut short after leaving the game in the fourth inning with an apparent left arm injury.

In the first inning, Clearwater picked up right where they left off last night. Emmarion Boyd hustled out a high chopper and swiped second base to put a runner in scoring position. With Clearwater threatening, Brian pulled off a 180-degree spin move to erase Boyd from the basepath, putting an end to the threat.

Left field was a ball magnet in the home half of the third where Tampa sent nine men to the plate. It started when LF Felix Negueis took a nasty heater off the top of his helmet. The hit parade started with 2B Dayro Perez, who picked up the game’s first RBI with a line-drive single to left. C Augustin Ramirez continued the onslaught with another single to left field. Clearwater’s starter, Starlyn Castillo (0-1) lost the zone and walked DH Taylor Aguilar to load the bases. The runs kept on coming for Tampa. 3B Jesus Rodriguez extended the lead to three with a base hit to, guess where… left field. Medina laced yet another hit that brought in two more runs and knocked Castillo out of the game.

In the fourth, the Threshers worked three free passes in a row to load the bases. RHP Yorlin Calderon (1-1) took over for Brian with the bases juiced and surrendered an RBI-single to Jordan Dissen.

You can sum up the bottom of the fifth simply … walks, walks, and more walks. Tampa worked four walks and one HBP to put the game out of reach. Ramirez started it off with a single past the lunging shortstop, Bryan Rincon. Aguilar ripped a single of his own past a diving Caleb Ricketts to put a runner on the corners. Tampa brought in three consecutive runs when Martinez got drilled with a pitch and Mejia and Negueis had back-to-back walks. The inning continued to unravel when SS Brenny Escanio bounced a ball to short; however, Rincon tried to tag out Mejia at third but missed, allowing all runners to reach safely. Once again, another walk, this time to Perez, extending the lead to eight. Clearwater finally got out of the inning when Ramirez bounced into a 4-6-3 double play to stop the bleeding.

The rest of the game went rather smoothly. RHP Ocean Gaboria made his Tarpons debut in the top of the ninth and wrapped it up by striking out two of the three batters he faced.

The Tarpons return to action tomorrow night with RHP Leonardo Pestana toeing the slab. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at GMS Field.