Threshers Outlast Yankees, Win 8-5 in 10

TAMPA, Fla. - Clearwater saw leads of 3-0 and 5-3 slip away to the Tampa Yankees on Monday night, but it was the Threshers who persevered.

Tied at five in the tenth, Andrew Pullin put the Threshers ahead for good by delivering an opposite-field double to score Angelo Mora from second.

Clearwater added two more in the inning, with Pullin scoring on an error by centerfielder Claudio Custodio and Dylan Cozens lining an RBI single over the drawn-in infield to place the Threshers on top, 8-5.

Mark Leiter, Jr. entered in the bottom half, in search of the first save of his career. The right-hander struck out two in a perfect inning to close out the win for Clearwater (10-9).

The Threshers had come just one out away from victory the previous inning.

Up 5-4, Ulises Joaquin issued a leadoff walk to Vicente Conde, and Custodio sacrificed him into scoring position. After Mark Payton laid down a bunt of his own to advance Conde to third, Tyler Wade sent a grounder to second, and second baseman Drew Stankiewicz's throw missed wide of first permitting Conde to score the tying run.

Joaquin (1-0) earned the win despite being charged with the blown save. It snapped a string of nine consecutive saves converted successfully by the right-hander, dating back to July 27, 2014.

Clearwater had a 3-0 lead early on Monday, jumping on Yankees starter Jonathan Holder for three in the opening inning.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cozens shot a single past second baseman Angelo Gumbs to plate two runs. Willians Astudillo then pulled a grounder to short, allowing Andrew Knapp to scamper home from third to make it 3-0.

The Yankees (10-9) managed to scratch their way back against starter Victor Arano. Tampa rallied for two in the fourth, then tied it on a Danny Oh sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Arano worked the front 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out three in what was the longest outing of his career.

Cozens finished 3-for-5 to lead the Threshers offensively, knocking in three runs to extend his team-leading total to 13.

The Threshers will go for the series win when they return home to Bright House Field on Dollar Tuesday, presented by Regions Bank. Miguel Nunez (0-1) gets the nod for Clearwater, opposed by Tampa's Eric Ruth (1-0). First pitch is set for 7 p.m., and the call can be heard live on the Threshers Broadcast Network beginning at 6:45 p.m.