Jupiter 2, St. Lucie 1
Domingo Tapia was sharp in game one of today’s double header. Tapia yielded five hits and only one run in six innings pitched. The Hammerheads’ lineup was formidable since it featured three major leaguers on rehab assignments: Giancarlo Stanton, Donavan Solano, and Joe Mahoney. Tapia held Stanton hitless in three at-bats – and actually struck him out swinging on a nasty slider low and away in his final at-bat.
Tapia did not allow any hits until the fourth inning when Solano singled to centerfield. In the subsequent at-bat, Solano was erased on a double play. However, the next batter, Joe Mahoney, lined a home run to right field for the first run of the game. In the bottom of the sixth, Tapia allowed a single to Hammerheads’ left fielder, Brett Keys, but Dustin Lawley made a great play to throw out Donovan Solano at home to put an end to the inning.
Offensively, St. Lucie struggled to score any runs. St Lucie had a terrific opportunity with the bases loaded and no outs in the third, but they failed to score. Robbie Shields struck out for the first out, and Cam Maron and Gilbert Gomez both popped up, which put an end to the inning. The only run St. Lucie scored was when T.J Rivera singled softly to right field to drive in Cam Maron in the fifth inning, which tied the game at 1-1.
In the bottom of the ninth, the game still remained tied. St. Lucie reliever, Chasen Bradford, retired the first two batters in the inning. However, the next two batters were able to scratch out hits against him. The next batter, Ryan Rieger, delivered the walk off hit. He hit a very weak groundball to third baseman, Aderlin Rodriguez, which allowed the winning run to score from third base.
It was a very disappointing and demoralizing finish, but St. Lucie will have a chance to rebound in game two of the double header. The pitching matchup will be Angel Cuan vs. Andrew Heaney.
Key Stats
T.J. Rivera: 1-for-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Aderlin Rodriguez: 2-for-4
Cam Maron: 0-for-3, 1 BB, 1 R
Domingo Tapia: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 ER, 5 K
Hamilton Bennett: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
Chasen Bradford: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 K
(Note from Satish: Sorry about the weird scoreboard cuts, but double-headers make it hard to grab the original scoreboard. Also, the second game of the double-header was suspended, and will be finished on Sunday.)