Tampa, FL – In a 10-inning thriller featuring four lead changes, the Dunedin Blue Jays came through with clutch late-inning hits to outlast the Tampa Tarpons 9-8 on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field in game four of a six-game set.
KEY PERFORMERS
- RHP Josbel Garcia (3.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K) earned the win in his Dunedin debut, spinning 3.1 shutout frames in relief with two strikeouts.
- Garcia retired the final ten batters he faced in order.
- 3B Aldo Gaxiola (2-for-6, HR, 4 RBI, R) drove in four runs, highlighted by his fourth homer of the season and the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning that secured Dunedin’s victory.
- Gaxiola opened the scoring with a two-run opposite-field homer in the 2nd inning that left the bat at 104.1 MPH and traveled 386 ft. He later added an RBI groundout in the 4th, before his go-ahead knock in the 10th.
- Gaxiola put three balls in play at 104+ MPH (104.1, 108.4, 107.5).
- Gaxiola also made a strong backhanded play at third base for the final out of the game.
- Gaxiola has reached base in 10 straight games, batting .314 over that span with 8 RBI and a .825 OPS.
- 2B Eric Snow (3-for-6, RBI) sent the game to extra innings with a two-out, game-tying RBI single in the 9th inning with Dunedin down to its final out.
- Snow logged his second consecutive multi-hit game, and his fourth multi-hit performance over his last five contests.
- Snow is 10-for-24 (.417) over his last five games with two RBI.
- 1B David Beckles (2-for-4, R, 2 BB) reached base four times and tallied his second multi-hit game of the season.