WP: MT Morrissey (2-1, 5.13)
LP: Nicolas Carreño (2-1, 1.94)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – Nolan Beltran’s one-out double in the first inning sparked an early rally for the Clearwater Threshers (34-20), who never trailed in a 10-4 win over the St. Lucie Mets (24-30) on Thursday night at Clover Park. Clearwater looks to clinch the series when they return to Port St. Lucie on Friday.
Robert Phelps drew a walk against Mets starter Nicolas Carreño to lead off the game and moved to second when Alirio Ferrebus reached on an error. Phelps scored on a double by Beltran to open up the scoring after the first out was recorded. Ferrebus moved to third on the double and scored on a groundout by Juan Villavicencio that doubled the Threshers' lead. Jonathan Hogart followed with a walk before TJayy Walton ripped a double down the right field line. The double scored Beltran to make it 3-0, and an errant throw from right field allowed Hogart to score from first and make it 4-0.
St. Lucie picked up a run in the bottom of the first to cut the deficit to three, but it didn’t last long. Jaeden Calderon battled in a 2-2 count to lead off the second, before roping a double down the left field line to begin the inning. He stole third and scored on a groundout by Phelps to give the Threshers back their four-run advantage. Clearwater rallied again with two outs in the top of the fourth, starting when Calderon worked a walk. Phelps got hit by a pitch to put two on for Burkholder, who doubled in Calderon from second to make the lead 6-1 for the Threshers.
Clearwater came out swinging to start the top of the fifth, beginning with a single by Beltran. Villavicencio walked, and Jonathan Hogart singled to load the bases before the first out. Tjayy Walton worked the count full before drawing a walk to score Beltran with the Threshers’ seventh run. After Villavicencio was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch, Victor Cardoza singled to left to score Hogart from third and extended the lead to seven runs.
Ferrebus led off the sixth inning with a base hit and advanced to second on a walk by Beltran. Villavicencio drew a walk to load the bases before the first out of the inning. Will Vierling entered as a pinch-hitter and beat out a fielder’s choice to score Ferrebus from third and make it an eight-run Threshers lead. St. Lucie bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the lead to five.
Cardoza singled, and Calderon walked before Mets reliever Jorge De Leon was taken out of the game. St. Lucie’s starting third baseman, Jackson Hauge, came in to pitch and gave up a single to Phelps to load the bases. After the first out of the inning, Ferrebus hit a deep fly ball to left center, scoring Cardoza on the sacrifice fly to put the Threshers into double digits. Two of the three Mets hitters struck out in the ninth, and the Threshers took their third straight win in St. Lucie by a 10-4 margin.
Cade Obermueller surrendered one run on three hits with six strikeouts in 3.0 innings of a no-decision. MT Morrissey (2-1) struck out two of the three batters he faced in a scoreless and hitless fourth inning to earn the win. Zuher Yousuf struck out one batter and allowed one hit in 1.0 scoreless frame. Peyton Havard gave up two hits and struck out one in 1.0 inning of relief. Jacob Pruitt fanned two batters and walked one in 1.0 scoreless and hitless inning. Tegan Cain surrendered three runs on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 1.0 inning. Tyler Bowen struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to finish the game.
Calderon has at least one extra-base hit in each of his last three games...Obermueller struck out two batters in each of his three innings on Thursday...Walton’s RBI double was his first extra-base hit of the season...Every Thresher who hit either scored or drove in a run in the win...Vierling pinch hit for Walton in the sixth...The Threshers will continue a six-game road series against the St. Lucie Mets on Friday, June 5...First pitch on Friday evening will take place at 6:10 pm...You can purchase Threshers tickets at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457…The BayCare Ballpark Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 am – 5 pm...The box office will be open on Saturdays from 10 am - 3 pm...Visit our website at threshersbaseball.com for information on tickets and promotions for the Threshers season.