FSL1 Clearwater Threshers

Threshers Edged 5-4 by Mets Thursday

Published on June 17, 2013 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Clearwater Threshers News Release


CLEARWATER (Thursday, June 13) - The Clearwater Threshers came up just short against the St. Lucie Mets, falling 5-4 on Thursday night at Bright House Field in front of 1,865 fans.

The Threshers (34-31) lost critical ground in the race for the first-half crown in the Florida State League's North Division, dropping to a game behind the Dunedin Blue Jays. St. Lucie (34-30) took the series against the Threshers three games to one.

St. Lucie opened the scoring in the top of the second, as Threshers starter Ethan Stewart walked the bases loaded with nobody out. Gilbert Gomez bounced into a double play to score Charley Thurber and advance Dimas Ponce to third base. Jonathan Clark then doubled to left, plating Ponce and giving St. Lucie the 2-0 lead.

Clearwater got on the board in the bottom of the second against St. Lucie starter Domingo Tapia. Third baseman Maikel Franco led off with a single to center, and moved to second with one out on a single up the middle by first baseman Chris Serritella. Shortstop Jonathan Roof bounced into a force out that retired Serritella and left runners on the corners with two outs. Catcher Logan Moore then sliced a double to right, scoring Franco and cutting the St. Lucie advantage to 2-1.

The Mets tacked on a pair in the top of the third. Matt Reynolds and Dustin Lawley smashed back-to-back doubles to score one run, and Lawley came around to score on a single by Ponce to make it 4-1 in favor of St. Lucie.

Clearwater cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Tapia walked the bases loaded with two outs, he issued another walk to Kelly Dugan, scoring the runner from third and cutting the St. Lucie lead to 4-2. Franco popped out to end the threat, leaving the bases loaded.

The Threshers finally evened it up in the bottom of the seventh against Mets reliever Angel Cuan (6-1). After second baseman Carlos Alonso rocketed a double to left, right fielder Kelly Dugan struck out looking to bring up Franco. The third baseman bashed a 1-2 fastball over the left field wall for a two-run homer, tying the ballgame at 4-4.

In the top of the ninth, the Mets pushed across the go-ahead run. Gilbert Gomez drew a one-out walk from reliever Jordan Guth (0-1), and moved to second on a ground out by Clark before he came home just ahead of the tag on a T.J. Rivera single to right for the winning run. Clearwater got runners on second and third in the ninth, but couldn't tie it up.

Stewart took a no-decision with four runs allowed on four hits and four walks in four innings, fanning one. Severino Gonzalez tossed three shutout frames of relief, giving up two hits and whiffing five. Colby Shreve threw one scoreless inning in relief, walking one. Guth took the loss, with a run allowed on two hits and a walk.

Tapia took his own no-decision, allowing two runs on five hits and five walks and striking out four in four innings. Cuan got the win, with two runs surrendered on three hits against four strikeouts in four relief frames. Chasen Bradford got two outs in the ninth, recording one strikeout and giving up a hit and a walk. T.J. Chism got the final out to earn his sixth save.

Clearwater will finish up the first half with a three-game set against the Daytona Cubs at Bright House Field starting Monday. It's a Feeding Frenzy at Bright House Field, presented by Brooklyn Knish! A $12 ticket entitles fans to an All-You-Can-Eat menu for three hours. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., and gates open at 6 p.m. The pregame show with Ben Gellman and Kirsten Karbach begins at 6:45 p.m. on ThreshersBaseball.com.

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Florida State League Stories from June 17, 2013


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