TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Tarpons (42-18) swept the Dunedin Blue Jays (30-30) in a Thursday night twin bill, extending their winning streak to 10 straight games.
GAME ONE
Reigning FSL Pitcher of the Week J.T. Etheridge turned in another impressive outing on the hill, tossing 5.0 innings and allowing just one unearned run while earning his 10th win of the season.
Dunedin opened the scoring in the third inning by capitalizing on a Tampa miscue to take a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Anthony Potestio continued his hot stretch, beginning the Tarpons’ scoring for the second straight game with a home run. Today’s long ball traveled 421 feet, launching off the top of the center-field batter’s eye to give Tampa a 2-1 advantage.
The Tarpons added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, once again courtesy of the long ball. Tyce Armstrong led off the inning with a homer just inside the right-field foul pole. Luke Pettitte followed with a ground-ball single up the middle before Diego Castellanos sent one over the right-field wall, extending Tampa’s lead to 5-1.
The Blue Jays scratched across two runs in the seventh, but the Tarpons held on for a 5-3 victory.
GAME TWO
Tampa’s starting pitching continued to dominate in the nightcap, as Edinzo Marquez delivered 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball, surrendering just two hits.
The Tarpons scored both of their runs in the bottom of the second. Brando Mayea reached on an error and Castellanos drew a walk before Luis Escudero doubled to bring Mayea home. Back-to-back walks from Blake Schaaf and Dax Kilby then brought Castellanos across, giving Tampa a 2-0 lead.
Dunedin threatened in the seventh, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Josh Tiedemann induced a 5-4-3 double play to slam the door and secure the Tarpons’ 11th shutout victory of the season.
Tampa and Dunedin will return tomorrow night for Latin Heritage Night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.