Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: vs. Palm Beach
Published on July 28, 2018 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Tampa Tarpons News Release
7/28 Tampa vs. Palm Beach - Game 3 (of four) - George M. Steinbrenner Field (Tampa, FL) - 6:30 p.m.
Pitching Matchup: LHP Ian Oxnevad (4-5, 5.23) vs. RHP Nick Nelson (5-3, 3.45). Live Audio: TuneIn Radio (Tampa Tarpons Broadcast Network).
LAST NIGHT: The Tarpons jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the 4th, but the Cardinals scored nine unanswered runs for a 12-11 win to pull the series even...The teams combined for 21 hits and 20 walks...The Tampa infield converted a season-high four double plays...Isiah Gilliam (0-for-3, 2BB, RBI, R) tallied his 59th RBI with a groundout in the 1st...Steven Sensley (1-for-3, HR, 2BB, 2RBI, 3R) hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the 1st (his 14th HR and 4th w/ Tampa)...Angel Aguilar (1-for-5, 2RBI, R), Ben Ruta (2-for-4, BB, 2RBI, R, SB) and Kellin Deglan (1-for-4, 2B, BB, 2RBI) combined to drive in five runs in the 3rd...Ruta, Deglan and Estevan Florial (1-for-4, 2B, 2BB, RBI, R) worked RBI walks in the 4th...LHP Dalton Lehnen (4.1IP, 6H, 7ER, 6BB, 0K, 87P/44S) allowed a season-high in runs and walks...LHP Justin Kamplain allowed 4ER in 1.2IP (5H, 2BB)...RHP Kyle Zurak (BS, 1)(L, 0-1) made his Tarpons debut (2.0IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB, 4K, HR)...RHP Andrew Schwaab (1.0IP, 1K) tossed a perfect 9th.
BIG TOE: Ronald Torreyes (2-for-6, R) played all nine innings at shortstop last night. The 25-year-old was optioned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Tampa on Monday. In two stints this season with the New York Yankees, Torreyes is batting .323 (21-for-65) with 7R, 6 doubles, 6RBI and 2BB in 24 games. The Venezuelan has also played in 13 games with the RailRiders, batting .196 (9-for-46) with 4R, 1 double, 2RBI and 4BB.
HELLO, OLD FRIEND: Steven Sensley faced his college teammate and Palm Beach RHP Evan Guillory on Friday. The two played together at the University of Louisianna-Lafayette before both got drafted in 2017. Sensley won the battle, crushing a go-ahead, two-run homer off Guilllory in the 1st and drawing a walk in the 3rd. Palm Beach INF Stefan Trosclair also played with Sensley and Guillory on the Rajin Cajuns.
RUTA'S RAKING: Ben Ruta (2-for-4, BB, 2RBI, R, SB) logged his third-straight multi-hit game. In his last eight games, the 24-year-old is batting .484 (15-for-31) with 6RBI and nine runs scored in that span.
OFFENSE STAYS HOT: Albeit in a losing effort, the Tarpons tallied 11 more runs last night. In the last eight games, Tampa is batting .298 (95-for-319) while scoring 60 runs, averaging 7.5 runs-per-game. The Tarpons have also formed a streak of scoring in the 1st inning in four-straight games.
GO, DIEGO, GO! In July (22 games), Diego Castillo is batting .333 (28-for-84) with 17R, 5 doubles, 10RBI, 5BB and 3SB. In that span, the 20-year-old has struck out only two times in 84 at-bats. Among qualified batters, Castillo leads the league in lowest TPA/SO Ratio (10.64).
VS. PALM BEACH: Tonight will be the third of eight games scheduled between the Tampa Tarpons and Palm Beach Cardinals. The season-series is currently tied, 1-1. Last season, Tampa finished 5-3 against Palm Beach, including 4-0 at GMS Field and 1-3 at Roger Dean Stadium.
OHH YEAHH! Tonight, the Tarpons will honor former Tarpons player Randy Poffo, who became45 better known as Macho Man Randy Savage. Prior to his wrestling days, Poffo was a two-time All-State baseball player at Downer's Grove High School near Chicago, Illonois. At 18, Poffo signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. Poffo joined the Cincinnati Reds in 1974 and played in 131 games with the Tampa Tarpons, batting .232 with 9HR and 66RBI before leaving the diamond for the ring.
STRIKEOUT KINGS: Nick Green (4K), Kaleb Ort (2K) and Matt Wivinis (5K) combined for 11 strikeouts on Monday. Tampa pitchers have tallied double-digit strikeouts in 45 games this season, with the Tarpons going 25-20 in such games. Tampa, by far, leads the Florida State League in strikeouts, totaling 976K entering today. That is 92K more than the team ranked second (Clearwater - 879K). Tampa is averaging 9.38 K-per-game and is on pace for 1,314K, which would crush its own FSL single-season strikeout record set last season with 1,215K.
BABY BOMBERS: The Tarpons currently lead the league with 85 home runs. No other team has more than 74.
FOR STARTERS: RHP Nick Nelson (5-3, 3.45) will make his 13th start (14th appearance) with Tampa. Last time out, made a spot-start for Double-A Trenton at Binghampton on 7/22 (ND, 4.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 5K, 93P/54S)...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 July 28, 2018
- Miracle Split Twin Bill With Tortugas - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Fraley, Sanchez Lead Stone Crabs to 9-8 Win - Charlotte Stone Crabs
- Six-Run 8th Powers Tarpons over Cardinals, 8-5 - Tampa Tarpons
- Stone Crabs Outlast Mets, 9-8 - St. Lucie Mets
- Flying Tigers vs. Clearwater Threshers Suspended - Lakeland Flying Tigers
- Tampa Tarpons Game Notes: vs. Palm Beach - Tampa Tarpons
- Florida Fire Frogs Game Notes: July 28, 2018 - Florida Fire Frogs
- McKay Homers Twice in 6-0 Shutout of St. Lucie - Charlotte Stone Crabs
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.
