Tarpons lose Rubber Match to Flying Tigers, 5-1

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Tarpons (1-2) hop out of town after an aggravating loss against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (2-1) on Easter Day at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Manager Rachel Balkovec handed the ball to RHP Justin Lange (0-1), who battled through five innings and took the tough luck loss in a valiant effort (5.0IP, 4H, 2R, 7 K).

The bottom of the first started with a pinball-like play; SS Dayro Perez grounded one off Lakeland pitcher Carlos Marcano’s hand which ricocheted to shortstop. Peyton Graham adjusted accordingly and threw to first base for the out. With two outs, RF Daury Arias kept his hot start to the season alive, ripping a base hit to right field. Tampa was unable to capitalize after the two-out knock.

Starting the second inning off with a bang was Adinso Reyes, who launched a ball off the top of the left field wall to put the Flying Tigers in position to strike first. Manuel Saquera put runners at the corners with a single to left field. Lakeland did indeed strike first. 1B Jesus Rodriguez made a spectacular play at first base, getting the force out, and he decided to come home to try for the double play. The attempt was unsuccessful as Reyes plated the first run of the game. With Jose De La Cruz on first, the steal was in play, and C Agustin Ramirez threw down to catch him in a pickle; however, Reyes came home during the play, extending Lakeland’s lead to two.

LF Nelson Medina opened the home half of the second by roping a single to left field, and CF Alan Mejia worked a walk to try and light a fire for the Tarpons. Marcano extinguished the fire with help from his middle infield when they made a stunning 4-6 force to end the inning. Luke Gold made a glove flip to Peyton Graham, who made a barehanded catch on the flip to escape the jam.

Moises Valero saved an error from Reyes on the first at-bat of the inning as he used his Easter Sunday hops to haul in a lousy throw and tag 2B Jared Serna. With two gone, Lakeland made a call to the bullpen, bringing in Cole Patten (1-0) to strike out Medina to end the frame.

With Lange trying to work another clean inning in the fifth, De La Cruz had other ideas as he shattered his bat for a bloop single. Valero took what was a called strike three, but an ABS challenge kept him in the box for one more pitch. It proved to be a non-factor when Lange struck him out on a sweeping slider on the very next pitch.

The bottom half of the fifth got started with another bloop hit off the bat of Mejia. The Tarpons were helped out by back-to-back Lakeland errors to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Ramirez hit a slow roller to first base that brought in one run to cut the lead in half.

RHP Yorlin Calderon came in for Tampa in the sixth and was dealing. He struck out the side on 15 pitches, primarily using his changeup, which generated two swings and misses in the inning.

The Tarpons failed to capitalize with runners on again in the sixth. After Jordan Marks entered and issued back-to-back walks, the Tarpons’ rally stalled, keeping the deficit at one.

With Lakeland looking to add some breathing room in the eighth, De La Cruz continued his perfect start to the season, lacing a single back up the middle. Wenceel Pérez struck a base hit off of Rodriguez’s glove that put runners at the corners. RHP Harrison Cohen unleashed a wild pitch to give Lakeland the cushion they were looking for.

Peyton Graham gave flashbacks to Derek Jeter in the eighth. He ranged in the hole and made a jump throw to nab Serna at first base, leaving the fans in awe.

Two bloopers off the bats of Rothenberg and Sequera set up the Flying Tigers for a few insurance runs in the ninth. Seth Stephenson came up clutch for Lakeland in his first at-bat of the game after pinch-running in the eighth. He punched a single into right-center, where Mejia bobbled the ball, allowing the lead to grow to four.

Tampa will travel to Dunedin next week to take on the Blue Jays in a six-game set starting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with RHP Hayden Merda listed as the probable starter.