Tarpons' defensive woes lead to sixth straight loss

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Tarpons' (1-6) woes continued Friday night, as they dropped their sixth straight game to the Dunedin Blue Jays (6-1) at George M. Steinbrenner Field, 11-2. The Tarpons didn’t help themselves in the field, committing six errors which led to six unearned runs. 3B George Lombard Jr. picked up a pair of singles while scoring one run. Lombard Jr.’s on-base percentage now sits at .529, which ranks second in the Florida State League.

LHP Allen Facundo (2.0IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB, 1K) only allowed one hit while using a four-pitch mix to keep Dunedin’s lineup off balance. Facundo’s primary pitch, his four-seam fastball, held the Blue Jays’ hitters to an average exit velocity of 84.7 MPH. Facundo kept the ball on the ground, inducing four groundouts in his two innings of work.

A first inning two-out rally gave Dunedin the early advantage. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Riley Tirotta worked the count full before taking a walk. Tirotta stole second base and came around to score when Yhoangel Aponte doubled down the left field line.

Lombard Jr. singled to open the Tarpons’ half of the first. After swiping his second bag of the season, 1B Dylan Jasso doubled in Lombard to even the score at one.

Aponte lasered his second double of the game over CF Willy Montero’s head to open the fourth. After walks to Manuel Beltre and Edward Duran, Dunedin loaded the bases for Yeuni Munoz. RHP Jordy Luciano was able to limit the damage, getting Munoz to bounce into a double play, which scored Aponte. Luciano buckled down and struck out Bryce Arnold to limit the damage to one run.

Luciano lost control in the fifth; the first two pitches Luciano threw in the frame both hit Dunedin batters. With both runners on, newly entered Ricardo Balogh drew a walk to load the bases. A passed ball plated Alexis Hernandez, and after Luciano struck out Tirotta, Tampa made a call to the bullpen. RHP Montana Semmel took over and was immediately greeted with an RBI single off the bat of Aponte, growing Dunedin’s lead to three.

C Edinson Duran lined his first extra-base hit of the season to left field, opening the bottom of the fifth with a double. Lombard Jr. reached with his second single of the night, and a pitch beaned SS Roderick Arias to load the bases. 2B Enmanuel Tejeda brought home his team-leading fifth RBI of the season with a SAC-fly to center to cut the lead to two.

The Blue Jays put the game out of reach in the seventh. The inning unraveled for Tampa when Lombard Jr. dropped a pop-up on the outskirts of the infield. After the error, Aponte racked up his fourth hit, a 102.8 MPH triple off the center field wall. Beltre followed up the triple with an RBI single. Dunedin tacked on an additional run on a double steal attempt when Duran’s throw to second went into center field, allowing Beltre to score, growing the lead to five.

In the ninth, the Blue Jays padded the lead with another four runs. The big blow came on a 3RBI triple from Munoz.

The Tarpons will look to reset tomorrow when they take on the Blue Jays at GMS Field. RHP Ryan Harvey is projected to start, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.