Threshers Jump Out to Early Lead, Cruise to 10-4 Win

Dunedin, FL – The Dunedin Blue Jays (31-33) dropped their series-opener against the Clearwater Threshers (43-20) on Tuesday night at TD Ballpark.

Clearwater got it going in a big way in the first inning, with the first four batters in the lineup all reaching base (two hits and two walks). After Blue Jays starter RHP Alex Amalfi got the first out of the inning, Ryan Leitch stepped up with the bases loaded and crushed a hanging curveball, sending it over the left-center field wall for a grand slam to put Clearwater up 5-0 in the opening frame.

After the grand slam though, Amalfi settled down, retiring the final eleven batters he faced before finishing his day. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays would start cutting into the deficit.

Dunedin answered right back in the bottom of the first, scoring a run on a Jaden Rudd single and another on a Gabriel Cotto wild pitch. It looked as though the Blue Jays scored a third on a Jeff Wehler sac-fly to right, plating Ryan McCarty from third, but after an appeal by the Threshers, the two-man umpire crew of Chad Lagana and Shae Graham ruled McCarty had left early, resulting in the third out of the inning and the run being taken off the board.

The Blue Jays would continue to fight back, with Tucker Toman doubling home Robert Robertis in the second, then Robertis tripling in Glenn Santiago in the fourth, but once Clearwater went to the bullpen after the fifth inning, Dunedin was effectively shut down. Jonh Henriquez and Wen Hui Pan combined for the final four innings, allowing zero runs and just one hit each while Clearwater extended their lead with an additional five runs, sealing up a 10-5 Threshers victory.

With the loss, the Blue Jays dropped their third consecutive contest, now not being able to finish above .500 in the first half. The two teams will go again on Wednesday with an 11:00 a.m. first pitch.