Dunedin can’t erase early deficit, loses finale in Lakeland

LAKELAND, FL- Dunedin couldn’t erase a six-run second inning deficit and fell short of a comeback win, 7-5 to Lakeland at Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

With the defeat, Dunedin settles for a series split with the Flying Tigers and falls back to third place.

Lakeland jumped on Blue Jays starter Gage Stanifer in the first two frames, starting the scoring with a Max Clark solo home run in the first.

In the second, Kevin McGonigle cracked a three-run homer to right field to boost the lead to 4-0. Later in the inning, Brett Callahan picked up an RBI single to chase Stanifer after an inning and two thirds. Andrew Jenkins rounded out a five-run, four-hit frame with an RBI single that made it 6-0.

The Blue Jays jumped on the comeback trail in the top of the fourth, scoring on an RBI triple from Luis De Los Santos and an RBI single from Yhoangel Aponte to trim the deficit to 6-2.

In the sixth, De Los Santos struck again, blasting a solo home run to left to make it 6-3.

The Jays played longball again in the eighth, as Victor Arias led off the inning with a single, and Arjun Nimmala followed with a line drive solo home run to right to make it a 6-5 game.

Juanmi Vasquez (1.2 innings), Irv Carter (two) and Eliander Alcalde (two) kept Lakeland off the scoreboard until the eighth inning, when Jenkins flared an RBI single against Nate Garkow to increase the Flying Tigers’ advantage to 7-5.

In the ninth, Manuel Beltre reached on a hit by pitch, but Dunedin couldn’t manage another base runner.

The Blue Jays return to TD Ballpark for a six-game series with the first place Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, beginning Tuesday night at 6:30. Tickets are available now at DunedinBlueJays.com.