CLEARWATER, Fla. - Dermis Garcia slammed an inside-the-park home run off the base of the centerfield wall in the sixth, but a pair of sacrifice flies by Edgar Cabral held up as the Threshers defeated the Tarpons, 2-1, in the rubber game on Saturday night at Spectrum Field.Clearwater (6-11) appeared
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Dermis Garcia slammed an inside-the-park home run off the base of the centerfield wall in the sixth, but a pair of sacrifice flies by Edgar Cabral held up as the Threshers defeated the Tarpons, 2-1, in the rubber game on Saturday night at Spectrum Field.
Clearwater (6-11) appeared to open the scoring in the second when Jake Scheiner singled and crossed the plate on a double to left by Danny Mayer. Left-fielder Tyler Hill stopped play, put his hands in the air and claimed the ball was stuck under the fence. Home plate umpire Jhonatan Biarreta ran out, confirmed the claim and placed the runners at second and third.
Cabral followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Scheiner. Centerfielder Pablo Olivares made the catch, threw quickly into the infield, and shortstop Welfrin Mateo threw to second base, where Diego Castillo caught Mayer off the bag for a double play. A walk and a single followed before a groundout ended the inning.
RHP Rony Garcia followed with a perfect third and got one out in the fourth before Mayer hit a high flyball to left. Hill ran onto the warning track and looked up, but the ball fell to his left, and Mayer hustled for a triple. Cabral followed with a fly ball to right for his second sacrifice fly, giving the Threshers a 2-0 lead.
Garcia (L, 0-1) stranded a two-out walk in the fifth to end his outing, yielding two earned runs on five hits in five innings. The 21-year-old issued two walks, struck out five and threw 50 of 80 pitches for strikes.
Tampa (6-11) had hits in each of the first five innings against RHP Andrew Brown (W, 1-2), but the 21-year-old logged five scoreless frames, scattering five hits and one hit-batter while allowing no walks, striking out one on 77 pitches (50 strikes).
Light rainfall began as RHP Connor Brogdon relieved Brown in the sixth. After two quick outs, Dermis Garcia lined a ball deep to center. Centerfielder Ben Aklinski ran back, but the ball bounced off the wall and towards right field. Garcia rounded third and slid feet first under the tag of catcher Colby Fitch, beating a relay throw to the plate.
RHP Brooks Kriske worked around a double and a walk in the sixth before tossing a perfect seventh. RHP Kyle Zurak followed with a scoreless ninth, walking one batter before getting a lineout double-play to face the minimum.
Brogdon (H, 1) struck out two in a scoreless seventh, and LHP Jonathan Hennigan (SV, 2) got a double-play in the eighth before striking out two batters in a perfect ninth to close the game.
Castillo (1-for-4) extended his hitting streak to seven games, batting .360 (9-for-25) in that span. Garcia (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R) homered for the second-straight day and now leads the Florida State League with five home runs and 18 RBI.
The Tarpons will have Easter Sunday off before heading to Port Charlotte to open a three-game series with the Stone Crabs. RHP Frank German (0-1, 4.15) will get the start against RHP Brian Shaffer (0-0, 1.69) in the series-opener on Monday at 6:30 pm. Live play-by-play audio will be provided by the Charlotte Stone Crabs Baseball Network.
Tampa will return home to open a four-game series against the Threshers, beginning on Thursday, April 25th, at 6:30 p.m. On "Taco Thursday," fans can enjoy an all-you-can-eat Taco and Nacho bar for $10, House Margaritas for $6 and Coronas for $4 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
