Hernandez Homers Twice, Drives in 4 in 5-4 Loss
Published on April 30, 2017 under Florida State League (FSL1)
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Hernandez Homers Twice, Drives in 4 in 5-4 Loss Apr 30th 2017, 01:15, by Kirsten Karbach
Jan Hernandez belted a three-run home run in the ninth inning to cut the deficit to one on Saturday, but Clearwater saw its five-game win streak halted in a 5-4 loss to the St. Lucie Mets at First Data Field.
Clearwater (16-7) put the tying run on third with two outs in the ninth, before Tyler Bashlor got Cornelius Randolph to ground out on a 3-2 pitch to end the ballgame.
Hernandez went yard twice on Saturday, driving in all four of Clearwater's runs. It was the first multi-homer performance for a Thresher this season, and the first multi-RBI night for Hernandez.
Damek Tomscha increased his hitting streak to 11-straight, finishing 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, while Drew Stankiewicz went 3-for-4 with a double.
Clearwater found itself down early on Saturday, after Jeff McNeil knocked a two-run home run off Alberto Tirado in the first, putting St. Lucie (9-14) up 2-0.
The Threshers crept close in the fifth, after Mets starter Andrew Church held them scoreless through the first four.
Hernandez jumped on the first pitch of the inning, sending a deep drive out to left-center for his fourth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Clearwater managed to put the tying run on third with one out, but Church (1-2) got Zach Coppola to ground out to second and struck out Cornelius Randolph to end the inning.
St. Lucie responded in the bottom half with a pair of runs off Tirado. Vinny Siena opened the inning with a double, and scored on a one-out single from Patrick Mazeika . Tirado got Anthony Dimino to ground out to first for the second out, but JC Rodriguez followed with a single to right on a 3-2 pitch to end the night for Tirado, with the Threshers trailing 4-1.
Austin Davis entered in relief, and proceeded to strike out each of the first four men he faced.
The Mets tacked on a run off Davis in the seventh on a Mazeika sacrifice fly. The run was only the second surrendered by Davis in 14.1 innings this year.
Down 5-1, Jose Pujols opened the ninth with a walk, and Deivi Grullon singled, setting up Hernandez's three-run blast to left that sliced the deficit down to one. Stankiewicz followed with a single, and Grenny Cumana dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance pinch runner Mark Laird over to second.
Coppola grounded out to short, but Laird made it down to third on the play. The count ran full on Randolph before Bashlor induced the groundball to short to finish it off.
The series wraps up with a rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Blake Quinn (0-1) takes the hill for Clearwater opposed by Craig Missigman (0-1). The Threshers will return home to Spectrum Field on Monday, when they open a four-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads.
Florida State League Stories from April 30, 2017
- Bautista Blanks Bombers, 4-0 - Daytona Tortugas
- Miracle Cap Wild Comeback with Three-Run Eighth - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Three Homers Not Enough as Threshers Drop Series - Clearwater Threshers
- T-Yanks Blanked by 'Tugas in Finale - Tampa Yankees
- Cronenworth Extends Hitting Streak to 24 in 4-2 Loss - Charlotte Stone Crabs
- Flores Lifts Mets to 6-5 Victory over Threshers - St. Lucie Mets
- Bradenton Ends April with a Win - Bradenton Marauders
- Tampa Pounds Daytona, 12-1 - Daytona Tortugas
- Santos and Lawson Pitch Stone Crabs to 2-1 Win - Charlotte Stone Crabs
- Tampa Erupts for Season-High 12 Runs To - Tampa Yankees
- Hernandez Homers Twice, Drives in 4 in 5-4 Loss - Clearwater Threshers
- - Jays Spoil Bark in the Park with 6-2 Win - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Mets Hang on Late to Beat Threshers 5-4 - St. Lucie Mets
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