Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: vs. Bradenton
September 2, 2018 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Tampa Tarpons News Release
9/2 Tampa vs. Bradenton - Game 3 (of three) - George M. Steinbrenner Field (Tampa, FL) - 1:00 p.m.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Pedro Vasquez (0-3, 4.87) vs. RHP Christian Morris (1-2, 5.66).
Live Audio: TuneIn Radio (Tampa Tarpons Broadcast Network).
LAST TIME: Tampa tallied its 12th shutout win by blanking the Marauders, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon...LHP Reiver SanmartÃn (W, 2-0) stymied Bradenton for 6.0IP (3H, 0R, 0BB, 5K, 78P/58S)...Daniel Barrios (1-for-2, HR, RBI, R) clubbed a leadoff homer in the 3rd (his 1st HR)...Diego Castillo (1-for-3, 2B, Sac-B, R) doubled and scored on a two-out RBI single by Dom Thompson-Williams (1-for-3, BB, RBI, SB, CS) in the 5th...RHP Kaleb Ort (H, 1) stranded a pair of walks in the 7th (2.0IP, 2BB, 1K)...RHP Kyle Zurak (SV, 1) worked around a hit in the 9th (1.0IP, 1H).
RED THUNDER RETURNS: On Thursday, OF Clint Frazier joined the Tarpons on a Major League Rehabilitation Assignment for the second time this season. The 23-year-old had been sidelined since July 19th with concussion symptoms. Frazier also played four games with Tampa between April 26-29, batting .200 (3-for-15, 3R, HR, RBI, 2SB) in his first rehab assignment. The Georgia native has played 15 games with New York this season, batting.265 (9-for-34, 9R, 3 doubles, 1RBI, 5BB), but has spent most of his season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .311 (59-for-190, 38R, 14 doubles, 3 triples, 10HR, 21RBI, 23BB, 4SB) in 48 games.
FINISH STRONG: The Tarpons have won 12 of their last 14 games and are back over the .500 mark for the first time since August 2nd (55-54). Despite the hot stretch, Tampa has been eliminated from postseason contention and will not play in the playoffs after doing so in 2016 and 2017.
RBI MACHINE: Dom Thompson-WIlliams extended his hitting streak to nine-straight games on Saturday. In that span, the 23-year-old is batting .343 (12-for-35) with 4HR and 14RBI. Since joining the Tarpons on May 21st, Thompson-Williams leads the Florida State League with 65RBI. The University of South Carolina product is batting .333 (35-for-105) with 21R, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 9HR, 31RBI and 15BB in August (28 games).
RUTA'S RAKING: Over his last 39 games, Ben Ruta is batting .358 (54-for-151) with 24RBI and 20 runs scored. The 24-year-old also leads all Yankees minor-leaguers with 37 stolen bases.
VS. BRADENTON: Today will be the 15th of 16 games scheduled (one cancelled) between the Tampa Tarpons and Bradenton Marauders. Tampa leads the season-series, 12-2, including 6-2 in those games played at GMS Field. In 11 games against the Marauders, Diego Castillo is batting .421 (16-for-38) with 10R, 4 doubles, 10RBI, 6BB and 2SB. Ben Ruta is batting .500 (19-for-38) with 12R, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4HR, 12RBI, 2BB and 4SB in nine games against Bradenton.
STRIKEOUT RECORD BROKEN...AGAIN: For the second-straight season, Tampa has broken the single-season Florida State League record for most strikeouts by a pitching staff. In 2017, the Tampa Yankees set the mark at 1,215 strikeouts. Entering today, the Tarpons have totaled 1,250 strikeouts. Tampa is averaging 9.19 K-per-game and is on pace for 1,259K.
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 lead the league with 110 home runs, surpassing the mark accomplished by Tampa in 2017 (103).
FOR STARTERS: RHP Christian Morris (1-2, 5.66) will make his 14th appearance and first start with Tampa...Last time out, logged a scoreless relief outing vs. Florida on 8/27 (H, 1)(1.1IP, 1H, 2BB, 0K, 23P/12S)...Began the season with Tampa, making six relief appearances before joining short-season Single-A Staten Island...went 0-2 with four saves and a 0.92 ERA (19.2IP, 11H, 4R/2ER, 6BB, 27K) in 12 relief outings for Staten Island before rejoining Tampa on 7/31.
2017: Spent most of the year with Single-A Charleston, going 6-2 with a 2.73 ERA (52.2IP, 42H, 17R/16ER, 14BB, 58K, 2HR) in 23 games (one start)...made one relief outing with Tampa to begin the season, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings (3H, 2K, 1WP) on 4/10 vs. Fort Myers...allowed one unearned run in 7.2IP (4H, 2BB, 3K) over four outings (one start) with Staten Island from 6/28-7/13
Personal: 24-years-old, 6-4, 195 - Williston, Florida... Selected by the Yankees in the 33rd round in 2015 out of Indiana University.
Florida State League Stories from September 2, 2018
- Morgan Lofstrom Comes up Clutch as the Tortugas Win 6-5 in Extras - Daytona Tortugas
- Tarpons Drop Rain-Shortened Season-Finale, 3-1 - Tampa Tarpons
- Clearwater Falls 2-1 in Final Regular-Season Tuneup - Clearwater Threshers
- Florida Crushes Charlotte's Dreams with Come-From-Behind Victory - Florida Fire Frogs
- Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: vs. Bradenton - Tampa Tarpons
- Florida Fire Frogs Game Notes: September 2, 2018 - Florida Fire Frogs
- Mets Season Finale at Jupiter Cancelled - St. Lucie Mets
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