Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: at Daytona
August 19, 2018 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Tampa Tarpons News Release
8/19 Tampa vs. Daytona - Game 3 (of three) - George M. Steinbrenner Field (Tampa, FL) - 1:00 p.m.
Pitching Matchup: LHP Wennington Romero (8-8, 4.54) vs. RHP Nick Nelson (6-5, 3.51).
Live Audio: TuneIn Radio (Tampa Tarpons Broadcast Network).
LAST NIGHT: Tampa pitchers tallied a season-high four hit-batters and the Tarpons tied a season-high by committing four fielding erros as the Tortugas evened the series with a 9-4 win on Saturday...RHP Rony Garcia (L, 0-4) started and took the loss (3.2IP, 7H, 8R/4ER, 1BB, 3K, 3HB, WP)...Estevan Florial (2-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI, R) logged his second-straight multi-hit game...Ben Ruta (2-for-4) and Jason Lopez (2-for-4, 2 2B's, 2R) also had multi-hit performances...Isiahl Gilliam (1-for-4, HR, RBI, R) clubbed a solo homer in the 8th (his 13th HR)...Braden Bristo held Daytona to 1ER in 2.1IP (2H, 3BB, 2K)...RHP Christian Morris (2.2IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K) and RHP Kyle Zurak (0.1IP, 1BB, 1K) had scoreless outings.
LET'S GO STREAKING: Dom Thompson-Williams (1-for-3, BB, RBI, CS) extended his hitting streak to 15 games on Saturday. Over that span, the 23-year-old is batting .364 (20-for-55) with 14 runs scored. In August (17 games), Thompson-Williams is batting .339 (21-for-62) with 4HR, 14RBI and 11BB.
RUTA'S RAKING: Over his last 29 games, Ben Ruta is batting .367 (40-for-109) with 22RBI and 14 runs scored. Ruta also leads all Yankees minor-leaguers with 36 stolen bases.
VS. DAYTONA: Today will be the ninth of 12 games scheduled between the Tampa Tarpons and Daytona Tortugas. Daytona leads the season-series, 5-3. Tampa is 2-3 in those games played at GMS Field. Estevan Florial is hitting .344 (11-for-32) with 7R, 2 doubles, 1HR, 4RBI, 5BB and 3SB in eight games against Daytona. Also in eight games against the Tortugas, Angel Aguilar is batting .310 (9-for-29) with 3R, 1 double, 1 triple, 1HR, 2RBI and 1BB.
1,000 K CLUB: The Tarpons' pitching staff became the first to reach 1,000 strikeouts in the Florida State League this season. Tampa leads the league in strikeouts, totaling 1,158K entering today. That is 78K more than the team ranked second (Clearwater - 1,080). Tampa is averaging 9.26K-per-game and is on pace for 1,297K, which would beat its own FSL single-season strikeout record set last season with 1,215K.
STRIKEOUTS FOR A CAUSE: The Tarpons have partnered with the American Cancer Society. Throughout the month of August, each time a strikeout is recorded by a Tampa pitcher, money will be raised for cancer research. The Tarpons are asking fans to donate $1.00 for every time a Tampa pitcher strikes out an opposing batter in the 31 games scheduled for August. To donate, fans must visit www.PledgeIt.org/TampaTarpons.
BABY BOMBERS: The Tarpons currently lead the league with 96 home runs. No other team has more than 89.
GARCIA NAMED FSL PITCHER OF THE WEEK: On Monday, the Florida State League named RHP Deivi Garcia the latest FSL Pitcher of the Week. The 19-year-old tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts over 7.0 perfect innings in a no-decision vs. Clearwater in Game 2 of a doubleheader on Monday, August 6th. Garcia joins RHP Jonathan Loaisiga (April 5th-15th) as Tarpons to have received the award in 2018.
FOR STARTERS: RHP Nick Nelson (6-5, 3.51) will make his 17th start (18th appearance) with Tampa. Last time out, took the loss at Palm Beach on 8/14 (5.1IP, 5H, 5R/2ER, 3BB, 6K, WP, 93P/58S)...Began the season with Single-A Charleston, going 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA (24.2IP, 18H, 10ER, 1HR, 2HB, 7BB, 35K) in five starts with the RiverDogs...did not allow a run in his final 13.0IP with Charleston.
2017: Spent the season in the Single-A Charleston rotation, making 22 starts and registering a 3-12 record and 4.56 ERA (100.2IP, 103H, 54R/51ER, 50BB, 110K, 5HR)...tied for the SAL lead in losses...after going 0-6 with a 6.34 ERA (38.1IP, 27ER) in his first nine outings, was 3-6 with a 3.47 ERA (62.1IP, 24ER) in his final 13 starts.
Personal: 22-years-old, 6-1, 195 - Panama City, Florida...Selected by the Yankees in the fourth round in 2016 out of Gulf Coast State College...Played two seasons (2015-16) at Gulf Coast State College (Fla.), where he went 13-5 with a 4.16 ERA (114.2IP, 108H, 64R/53ER, 49BB, 121K) in 22 games (21 starts)...had committed to play at the University of Florida before signing with the Yankees...graduated from Rutherford H.S. (Fla.) in 2014...was selected by the Giants in the 31st round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft but did not sign...Ranked as the No. 18 Yankees prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Florida State League Stories from August 19, 2018
- Bradenton Sweeps Jupiter in Extra Innings - Bradenton Marauders
- Tortugas Held to Just 2 Hits in 3-1 Loss - Daytona Tortugas
- Miracle Shut Out Again, Drop Rubber Game, 2-0 - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Threshers Shut Down Miracle Again, Extend Division Lead - Clearwater Threshers
- Jays Fall in Series Finale 5-3 to Mets - Dunedin Blue Jays
- Nelson, Harris Combine for Two-Hitter in 3-1 Win - Tampa Tarpons
- Davidson Dazzles as Fire Frogs Blank Flying Tigers - Florida Fire Frogs
- Mets Win Series Finale over Blue Jays, 5-3 - St. Lucie Mets
- Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: at Daytona - Tampa Tarpons
- Florida Fire Frogs Game Notes: August 19, 2018 - Florida Fire Frogs
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