FSL Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Mighty Mussels Game Notes - July 21-23 at Bradenton

Published on July 21, 2023 under Florida State League (FSL)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release


Pitching Matchups

Fri - 6:30 pm - RHP Jarret Whorff (2-0, 1.47) vs. LHP Dominic Perachi (3-0, 4.60)

Sat - 6:30 pm - RHP Andrew Morris (3-1, 2.74) vs. RHP Owen Kellington (0-2, 4.59)

Sun - 12:00 pm - RHP Ben Ethridge (1-4, 2.23) vs RHP Wilber Dotel (2-1, 2.79)

Mussels Hold On

Down to their final six outs, the Bradenton Marauders erased a 6-1 deficit Thursday after a Deivis Nadal grand slam and Josiah Sightler solo shot; the latter of the two tying the game at 6-6 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. However, Fort Myers responded with five runs in the top of the tenth en route to the 11-7 victory. The win snapped the Mussels' four-game losing streak and prevented the Marauders from earning their seventh win in a row. Fort Myers racked up a season-high 17 hits and launched three homers as a team. Rafael Cruz went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles, and four RBI. Starter Jose Olivares fanned eight hitters to set a career-high as well.

PIRATES PROSPECTS

The Marauders and Mussels meet for just the second of four times this week. The Marauders' active roster currently features the following ranked prospects:

MLB BA

2B Termarr Johnson 26 OVR 97 OVR

OF Lonnie White Jr. 12 30

SS Yordany De Los Santos 27 -

TOO CLOSE TO HANDLE

The Mighty Mussels have been locked in a bunch of close games lately. Over their last 14 contests:

- 7 have been decided by one run

- 12 have been decided by three runs or less

- 8 were decided in the teams' final turn at bat

- 7 went to extra innings

- Road team has won 10 of the 14

POWER SURGE

The Mighty Mussels' bats exploded for 21 runs and six homers over the course of the three-game series against Clearwater. Carson McCusker and Mikey Perez accounted for five of the six homers, both blasting 400+ foot shots in Sunday's finale. Despite the loud offense, Fort Myers lost the series and has now lost 13 games when scoring six runs or more this season.

NO-HIT NONSENSE

The Mighty Mussels have thrown four no-hitters in the past three seasons, with two coming during the same month (May 2022). The franchise went 10 full years since its previous no-hitter (2011).

Most recently, Fort Myers completed a nine-inning no-no on Sunday, May 14 against Tampa.

BULLPEN BLUNDER

While the rotation has been steady all year, the Mighty Mussels' bullpen has stumbled of late, allowing 18 runs in the last two games:

W-L ERA H/9 K/BB

April + May 16-10 3.57 7.4 3.1

June 1-July 14 10-9 4.77 8.7 2.0

Last 2 Games 0-2 12.27 18.8 1.2

ROTATION SAVIORS

While the Mighty Mussels' pitching staff has struggled due to promotions and injuries, two rotation pieces have kept Fort Myers competitive over their last six outings:

ERA WHIP BB/9

RHP Andrew Morris 1.39 0.87 1.7

RHP Ben Ethridge 1.30 0.76 2.3

Team in June + July 4.56 1.39 4.5

JOURNEYMEN JUNCTION

As a handful of key Mussels have been promoted and another handful injured, the following non-drafted journeymen have been given opportunities to wear the purple and gold:

INF Kamron Willman - Missoula Paddleheads

OF Francis Florentino - Westside Woolly Mammoths

RHP Jack Noble - Long Beach State Dirt Bags

RHP Ricardo Velez - East Side Diamond Hoppers

RHP Jarret Whorff - Lexington Counter Clocks

FRESH BATCH OF MUSSELS!

The Minnesota Twins drafted 21 players in this week's MLB Draft. Minnesota drafted 15 collegiate players and six high school players, while also selecting 15 pitchers and just six position players. The oldest draft picks and most likely to appear with the Mussels in 2023 are:

- 2B Luke Keaschall (2nd Round, 20 years old)

- SS Jay Harry (6th Round, 21 years old)

- RHP Nolan Santos (7th Round, 22 years old)

- RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto (12th Round, 22 yrs old)

MORE DEBUTS

Over the last three days, former Fort Myers stars Trey Cabbage and Christian Encarnacion-Strand made their MLB debuts.

Check out the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Statistics

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Florida State League Stories from July 21, 2023


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