Tarpons Handle Hammerheads, 9-3

TAMPA, Fla. -- Dom Thompson-Williams , Hoy Jun Park and Brandon Wagner all homered as the Tampa Tarpons kicked off the second-half of the Florida State League schedule with a 9-3 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Thursday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Albert Abreu retired eight of the first nine batters he faced, with the exception being a leadoff home run by John Silviano in the second. Silviano's 12th home run opened the scoring, giving Jupiter (0-1, 41-29) a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, an infield single in the first by Park proved to be the only base runner allowed by Hammerheads' starter Esmerling De La Rosa in his first three innings of work.
James Nelson led off the fourth with a double and advanced on the ensuing single by Joe Dunand. As Abreu struck out Silviano, Dunand stole second. Justin Twine followed with a single to right, scoring Nelson. Twine then swiped second, but Abreu got a pop out and a groundout to limit the damage.
Tampa (1-0, 36-35) responded against De La Rosa in the fourth when Park walked and later scored on a single by Wagner. Thompson-Williams followed with a line drive home run over the right field wall, giving the Tarpons a 3-2 lead.
Abreu (W, 3-2) stranded a two-out walk in the fifth to complete his outing. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on four hits in five innings, walking one while striking out six. The 22-year-old threw 57 of 90 pitches for strikes and earned his first win in four starts.
Angel Aguilar nearly homered to leadoff the bottom of the fifth, settling for a triple after his fly ball hit off the top of the right field wall. Wendell Rijo followed with a sacrifice fly to score Aguilar.
One out later, Park kept the inning alive with a home run over the right field wall. Isiah Gilliam then singled to center and scored when Wagner blasted a two-run homer on top of the Outfield Bar in right, giving Tampa a 7-2 cushion.
De La Rosa (L, 0-2) allowed a season-high seven earned runs on seven hits in five innings, walking one while striking out three. The righty threw 49 of 65 pitches for strikes.
LHP Phillip Diehl logged a pair of perfect relief innings in the sixth and seventh, striking out five of the six batters he faced.
Park singled, stole second and later scored on a base hit by Wagner in the seventh. Rijo doubled and scored when Ben Ruta reached on a two-base throwing error by Twine at second base, giving the Tarpons a 9-2 lead.
RHP Matt Frawley stranded a two-out single in a scoreless eighth before allowing a run on three-straight two-out singles in the ninth, striking out three along the way to closing the game.
Park (3-for-4, HR, BB, RBI, 3R, SB) logged his first three-hit game of the season, including his fifth homer. Wagner (3-for-4, HR, 4RBI, 2R) tied a season-high with 4RBI and leads all Yankees minor leaguers with 15 home runs. Thompson-Williams (1-for-4, HR, 2RBI, R) has 12 homers (seven with Tampa). Gilliam (1-for-3, BB, R) extends his hitting streak to a league-beset 15 games.
The series continues on Friday at 6:30 p.m. with RHP Nick Green (5-2, 2.25) set to start for the Tarpons. Former Tampa reliever RHP Josh Roeder (2.1, 4.80) is scheduled to start for the Hammerheads. Live play-by-play audio will be available on the Tarpons Radio Network.
On "Thirsty Fish Fryday," fans can enjoy seafood specials all night long, including: $7 popcorn shrimp combo, $8 buffalo popcorn shrimp combo and $9 beer battered fish. Fans can also enjoy $3 16oz. draft Budweiser/Bud Light, $1 small fountain drinks and 1/2 price wine from 6:00-8:00 p.m.