Harold Arauz blanked the Fort Myers Miracle for 3.2 innings in his Threshers debut on Tuesday, but the Miracle plated three unearned runs and walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Threshers suffered their second-straight loss, 5-2 at Hammond Stadium.Tied at two in the ninth, Brian
Harold Arauz blanked the Fort Myers Miracle for 3.2 innings in his Threshers debut on Tuesday, but the Miracle plated three unearned runs and walked off in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Threshers suffered their second-straight loss, 5-2 at Hammond Stadium.
Tied at two in the ninth, Brian Navaretto reached on an error on second baseman Drew Stankiewicz to open the inning, and Sean Miller sacrificed him to second. After an intentional walk, a wild pitch moved the winning run to third with just one out.
The Threshers deployed a five-man infield, before Jacob Waguespack (0-2) struck out Bradley Strong for the second out. Chris Paul ended it with a three-run home run to left.
Wilson Garcia finished 0-for-4 to snap his on-base streak at 17. Zach Coppola went 0-for-3 with a walk, ending his hit streak at 11 while extending his on-base string to 12. Cornelius Randolph's 11-game on-base streak came to a close after an 0-for-4 night.
Clearwater (22-17) fell behind early, when Zander Wiel and Alex Perez both connected for RBI singles against Franklyn Kilomé in the bottom of the first.
The game was delayed by rain for an hour and 10 minutes, ending Kilome's evening early. Upon resumption, Arauz took over with one out in the bottom of the third.
Arauz, who joined Clearwater from Lakewood on Tuesday, spun 3.2 scoreless innings in relief. The 21-year-old scattered three hits, did not permit a walk, and struck out six.
The Threshers did not have a hit until the fifth inning, when Deivi Grullon clipped a single past short to open the frame. Mark Laird followed with a liner to left, and Stankiewicz bunted them both into scoring position.
David Fischer got a big strikeout of Emmanuel Marrero for the second out, but Coppola drew a walk to load the bases. Herlis Rodriguez came through, knocking a single up the middle to bring home both Grullon and Laird to tie the game at two.
Waguespack held the Miracle (19-20) hitless through his first two innings before yielding three unearned runs in the ninth.
Game three of the series is set for Wednesday at 6:35 p.m., when Cole Irvin (3-3) takes the hill against Lachlan Wells (1-5).
