Randolph Keeps Streak Alive in Loss
July 8, 2017 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Clearwater Threshers News Release
DUNEDIN, Fla. - Clearwater kept it close until the eighth on Friday, but the Blue Jays rallied for seven runs to break it open and send the Threshers to a 12-2 loss in the series opener at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
Cornelius Randolph kept his on-base streak alive by drawing a pair of walks, and the 20-year-old has now reached safely in each of his last 19 games. That run is the longest active streak in the Florida State League, the longest for a Thresher this year, and the fifth-longest in the FSL in 2017.
Dunedin (42-42, 8-7) opened the scoring in the third, when a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Lourdes Gurriel allowed DJ Davis to cross the plate with the night's first run.
The Blue Jays added a second tally in the fourth, when a wild pitch allowed Juan Kelly to slide in and give Dunedin a 2-0 edge.
Clearwater (45-39, 7-7) took advantage of a two-out error to crack the scoreboard in the fifth.
After Ryan Borucki (6-4) induced a pair of outs on just two pitches, the lefty got ahead of Carlos Duran with two strikes. Duran hit a grounder to third that was thrown away by Luis Silva, allowing Duran to take second. Jan Hernandez came through with a single to center to bring Duran home and cut the deficit to 2-1.
An inning later, Emmanuel Marrero got things going with a leadoff single, and took second on a wild pitch. With one down, Wilson Garcia tied the ballgame by lacing a single to left-center to score Marrero and pick up his 37th RBI.
Dunedin again took the advantage in the bottom half. With two on and two out, JC Cardenas pulled a single to right to score Kelly and put Dunedin up 3-2.
Franklyn Kilome (4-4) took the loss despite a solid outing, permitting three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while striking out three in his six innings.
The Blue Jays broke it open against the Clearwater bullpen, pounding out nine runs across their final two innings to put it out of reach.
Game two of the four game set will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, when JoJo Romero (0-1) takes the hill opposed by Jordan Romano (4-3). The game will be broadcast live on threshersbaseball.com starting at 6:15 p.m.
Florida State League Stories from July 8, 2017
- Tampa Yankees to Host All-You-Can Eat - Tampa Yankees
- Tampa Rallies Ahead Before Falling - Tampa Yankees
- Kranson Brings the Thunder, Mother Nature Delivers Lightning - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Bats Break out in 12-2 Home Win - Dunedin Blue Jays
- Randolph Keeps Streak Alive in Loss - Clearwater Threshers
- Mets Record 12 Strikeouts, Drop Hammerheads 3-1 - St. Lucie Mets
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