Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: at Palm Beach
Published on August 14, 2018 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Tampa Tarpons News Release
8/14 Tampa at Palm Beach - Game 2 (of four) - Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium (Jupiter, FL) - 6:30 p.m.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Nick Nelson (6-4, 3.52) vs. RHP Jesus Cruz (4-0, 4.38).
Live Audio: TuneIn Radio (Palm Beach Cardinals Broadcast Network).
LAST NIGHT: The Tarpons, twice, rallied to tie the score, but the Cardinals prevailed, 7-6 in 10-innings, to take the opener of the four-game series in Palm Beach...RHP Rony Garcia started (5.0IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 1K, 96P/68S)...RBI knocks by Diego Castillo (2-for-5, RBI, R), Isiah Gilliam (1-for-5, 2B, 2RBI, R) and Ben Ruta (2-for-4, RBI, SB) tied the game at 4-4 in the 6th...Palm Beach retook the lead against RHP Kaleb Ort (2.0IP, 3H, 2R/1ER, 1BB, 3K, HR, WP)...After a leadoff homer by Steven Sensley (1-for-3, HR, BB, RBI, R), Angel Aguilar (0-for-3, BB, R) walked and later scored on a wild pitch following a two-out single by Hoy Jun Park (3-for-5, CS)...A throwing error by Park gave the Cardinals a walk-off win in the 10th...RHP Kyle Zurak (L, 0-2) shouldered the loss (2.0IP, 2H, 1R/0ER, 0BB, 1K).
LET'S GO STREAKING: Dom Thompson-Williams (2-for-5, R) extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Over that span, the 23-year-old is batting .395 (15-for-38) with 12 runs scored.In August (12 games), Thompson-Williams is batting .356 (16-for-45) with 3HR, 8RBI and 7BB.
RUTA'S RAKING: Ben Ruta is batting .383 (36-for-94) with 19RBI and 14 runs scored over his last 25 games. The 24-year-old also leads all Yankees minor-leaguers with 35 stolen bases.
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.
VS. PALM BEACH: Tonight will be the sixth of eight games scheduled between the Tampa Tarpons and Palm Beach Cardinals. Tampa leads the season-series, 3-2. In four games against the Cardinals, Estevan Florial is batting .438 (7-for-16) with 1R, 6 RBI and 4BB. Dom Thompson-Williams is batting .391 (9-for-23) with 3R, 1 double and 1RBI in five games against Palm Beach.
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 1,115K entering today. That is 84K more than the team ranked second (Clearwater - 1,031). Tampa is averaging 9.29K-per-game and is on pace for 1,301K, which would crush 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 93 home runs. No other team has more than 87.
FOR STARTERS: RHP Nick Nelson (6-4, 3.52) will make his 16th start (17th appearance) with Tampa. Last time out, made a quality start and earned the win at Bradenton on 8/9 (6.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 11K, HR, HB, 100P/70S); allowed his first HR in 100.2IP (4/8 at LEX)...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.
VS. PALM BEACH: Nelson faced the Cardinals in Tampa on 7/28 and took a no-decision (5.0IP, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 4K, WP, 92P/53S).
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.
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