TAMPA, Fla. – Sabier Marte impressed in his second Single-A start of the season, while Jackson Lovich's three-run homer in the sixth inning broke open a one-run game and lifted the Tampa Tarpons (18-6) to a 7-2 victory over the Bradenton Marauders (10-13) on Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Marte allowed one run on three hits across 4.2 innings, striking out four without factoring into the decision. After Richard Ramirez led off the second inning with a game-tying home run, the right-hander settled in to retire 11 of the final 13 batters he faced, keeping the Marauders off the board before exiting with the score tied, 1-1.
The Tarpons wasted little time getting on the board. Hans Montero singled to open the bottom of the first, stole second, advanced to third on a balk and scored on Luis Puello's RBI groundout to give Tampa an early 1-0 lead.
Bradenton answered in the second on Ramirez's solo blast, but Marte limited the damage by stranding a runner at third before cruising through the next three innings.
Tampa regained the lead in the fifth when Ediel Rivera launched a leadoff home run to left. Hans Montero followed by reaching on a hit-by-pitch and stealing second before Puello doubled to put runners at second and third. Willy Montero capped the inning by lining a two-out RBI single into left to extend the Tarpons' advantage to 3-1.
The Marauders trimmed the deficit to one in the sixth after a passed ball and throwing error allowed a run to score, but the Tarpons answered immediately.
Gregory Bozzo drew a walk and Rivera was hit by a pitch before Lovich crushed a 3-1 offering over the wall in right-center field for his 18th home run of the season, stretching Tampa's lead to 6-2.
The Tarpons tacked on another run in the seventh as Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek singled, stole both second and third, and scored on Christofer Reyes' RBI groundout.
Josh Tiedemann (1-2) earned his first victory of the season by collecting the final out in the fifth, while Jose Ledesma, Matthew Tippie and Parker Seay combined for 3.1 scoreless innings to close out the victory. With the win, the Tarpons swept the Marauders and extended their winning streak to six games.