'Cards Send Stone Crabs to 10th Straight Loss
June 26, 2014 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release
JUPITER, FL - Falling victim to the big inning is a recurring problem that the Stone Crabs have grown all too familiar with over the last month of the season. Comprised of a large group that went through something similar last season in Bowling Green, a very rough stretch isn't exactly foreign to many on this current roster. However, that doesn't take the sting of losing away nor make it any less pleasant. For the 13th time in 14 games, Charlotte walked out of the building on the losing end, sending their second half record to a dismal 0-8 after Thursday night's 7-3 loss to the Cardinals.
As the de facto ace of the staff, Reinaldo Lopez carried a 3.04 ERA into his 14th start of the season. He quickly negated Charlie Tilson's leadoff double in the first by retiring the next six hitters consecutively, sending a scoreless tie to the third. The offense, meanwhile, struggled to gain any traction on Cardinals lefty Jimmy Reed, who was making his Florida State League debut after being assigned to the roster just a day earlier. Through his first four innings, all the Stone Crabs could manage was a pair of infield singles from Leonardo Reginatto and Julian Ridings.
Perhaps the game turned once Cardinals catcher Dante Rosenberg hopped a one out single over Reginatto at short in the third inning. Another single by Tilson moved him to third, and allowed Ildemaro Vargas to break the scoreless tie with a groundout to short. Bruce Caldwell's double made it 2-0 and Luke Voit added another run with a single to put the Stone Crabs in another early hole.
Lopez complicated matters further when he walked Nick Martini and Anthony Garcia to open the fourth. Jimmy Bosco's single loaded the bases for Rosenberg to deliver his first run batted in with another single. Tilson chased a 3-2 pitch and went down swinging for the first out, but Vargas made it worse with a two run single into right to make it 6-0. Caldwell then completed the big inning with a groundout to second that scored Rosenberg for a 7-0 lead.
Charlotte chipped away at the deficit in the fifth following consecutive singles from Reginatto and Josh Sale. Luke Bailey's grounder led to a 4-6-3 double play, but Ridings second infield single brought in Reginatto to make it 7-1. In the sixth, Patrick Leonard lined his 11th homer over the left center field wall to make it 7-2 and provide some hope. That continued when Reed returned for the seventh and surrendered a leadoff triple to Reginatto. Sale's groundout and Bailey's strikeout ended Reed's evening, and Sam Tuivailala battled with Ridings before a strikeout retired the side.
After notching two saves in the last series, Dixon Llorens entered the game for the top of the ninth and started it by striking out Jonathan Quionez for the first out. Julian Ridings then cracked a double, and Coyle rolled a slow grounder up the first base line that was playable for Llorens. He bobbled the ball, but noticed Ridings breaking late for third, throwing him out in the nick of time for the second out. A single by Granden Goetzman in his Stone Crabs debut brought the tying run to the plate, but Leonardo Reginatto struck out looking on an 0-2 fastball to end the game.
The series continues on Thursday night at 6:35 PM when Reinaldo Lopez (4-2, 3.04 ERA) goes up against the Cardinals Jimmy Reed in his Cardinals debut. You can follow all the action by listening to the game on www.stonecrabsbaseball.com via TuneIn Radio, or tuning into 91.7 FM-WVIJ in the Port Charlotte area. The Stone Crabs Pregame Show starts at 6:15 PM on the Stone Crabs Radio Network.
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