Hernandez Crushes 11th Homer in 3-1 Loss
July 15, 2017 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Clearwater Threshers News Release
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jan Hernandez crushed his career-high 11th home run of the season to tie the ballgame at one in the fifth inning, but Clearwater suffered the series loss after falling 3-1 to the Bradenton Marauders at Spectrum Field on Pitch for Pink Night.
Cornelius Randolph worked a walk in the fourth to keep his on-base streak in tact at 24 consecutive games, the second-longest in the Florida State League this season.
The Marauders (50-37, 13-7) struck first in the second inning when Kevin Krause knocked a double to left, and moved to third on a wild pitch. With the infield in, Casey Hughston hit a chopper over short to score Krause with the night's first run.
Hernandez brought it back even in the fifth, launching a 1-2 pitch from Pedro Vasquez (8-4) that landed on the roof of Frenchy's Tiki Pavillion, well beyond the left field fence.
Franklyn Kilome did not factor in the decision after working five innings of one-run ball. Kilome issued four walks, but permitted only four hits.
Harold Arauz worked around a leadoff double to hurl a scoreless sixth inning and keep the game tied at one. He struck out Hughston and John Bormann on breaking balls to end the frame and strand the go-ahead run at third.
Arauz has not permitted an earned run since June 9, a span of 19.2 innings. In that time he has yielded just an uneanred run across seven outings between Clearwater and Double-A Reading.
The Marauders regained the advantage by manufacturing a run off Luke Leftwich (0-5) in the seventh.
Mitchell Tolman singled after a nine-pitch battle, and Ke'Bryan Hayes worked a walk. The pair pulled off a double steal, setting up Will Craig 's RBI grounder that plated Tolman with the go-ahead run.
Bradenton added one in the ninth off Jeff Singer, when Tolman and Hayes each singled, Tolman swiped third, and Craig brought him in with a sac fly.
Mark Laird was hit by a pitch to bring the tying run to the plate against Seth McGarry in the ninth, but McGarry induced three consecutive outs to earn his 10th save in as many tries.
Clearwater (48-42, 10-10) will head to Daytona for a three-game series starting Friday at 7:05 p.m. JoJo Romero (1-1) will have the start in the opener opposed by Jesus Reyes (6-5).
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Florida State League Stories from July 15, 2017
- Hernandez Crushes 11th Homer in 3-1 Loss - Clearwater Threshers
- Paez Grand Slam Lifts Mets to 8-5 Win over Daytona - St. Lucie Mets
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