FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Pearce Out-Duels Garvin, Cards Down Crabs

Published on July 7, 2016 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - Matt Pearce was one pitch better than Grayson Garvin on Thursday night.

Garvin, in his first appearance for the Stone Crabs since 2013, threw five brilliant innings, but a solo home run by Orlando Olivera was enough to provide the difference in a 2-1 Palm Beach win over Charlotte.

It was a stellar return to the hill for Garvin (0-1), who only needed 55 pitches to complete his prescribed five innings. The highlight was the first inning, when the lanky lefty required 13 tosses to strike out the side and get Charlotte Sports Park roaring early. Garvin retired nine of the last ten batters he faced after the Olivera home run.

Pearce (8-5) was that much better. The Cardinals ace carved up the Stone Crabs lineup, allowing just a run on three hits and facing one batter over the minimum. Pearce became the first pitcher for or against the Stone Crabs to throw a complete game this season, requiring just 86 pitches to do so.

The Cardinals picked up their second run against reliever Ian Gibaut in the sixth. Ninth hitter Oscar Mercado singled on a soft liner to lead off the inning, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Darren Seferina flew out to left for the first out, and Vaughn Bryan grounded to first, advancing Mercado to third with two away. Thomas Spitz hit a seeing-eye grounder just past Alec Sole at short to score Mercado and make it 2-0 Cardinals.

That run ended up being enormous for Pearce. Grant Kay strode up with two out and nobody on in the eighth and parked a 3-2 pitch over the Cardinal bullpen in left for his team-leading seventh home run of the year, extended his hitting streak to eight games and cutting the Cardinal lead to 2-1. Pearce retired the final four batters he saw after Kay on a combined seven pitches.

The Stone Crabs hit the road for a four-game series this weekend against the red-hot Daytona Tortugas at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The Tortugas were 23-6 in their last 29 games entering last night. RHP Henry Centeno (2-2, 2.52) takes the ball for Charlotte against Daytona RHP Jake Paulson (0-4, 6.51). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05, and you can hear the game live on the Stone Crabs Radio Network! This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

Check out the Charlotte Stone Crabs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Florida State League Stories from July 7, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central