Tiedemann Ks five; Lakeland bullpen quiets Jays to even series

LAKELAND, FL – In a game that featured Joey Votto starting at first base and Toronto’s top prospect Ricky Tiedemann starting on the mound, the Blue Jays fell 4-2 to Lakeland on Wednesday night at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Tiedemann, making his second rehab appearance with Dunedin, lasted 2.1 innings, throwing 44 pitches. After retiring the first four batters he faced, the lefty ran into trouble in the second inning, issuing back-to-back walks. The southpaw buckled down to get out of the jam, collecting back-to-back strikeouts to keep Lakeland off the board.

The Blue Jays scored the game’s first run in the third, as Victor Arias lined a triple into the corner in right field to drive in Nic Deschamps.

Tiedemann finished his outing with his fifth strikeout to open the bottom of the third. Irv Carter took over and retired all five batters he faced.

The D-Jays’ lead grew to 2-0 in the fifth, as Adrian Meza sliced a two-out RBI single.

Jorge Bautista, Dunedin’s regularly scheduled starter, entered the game for the bottom of the fifth. Daneurys De La Cruz provided a not-so-warm welcome, belting a two-out solo homer to make it 2-1

Votto exited the game following the fifth after an 0-3 outing at the plate.

In the sixth, Lakeland rallied for to take the lead. The Flying Tigers opened the frame with three straight baserunners – the last of which an RBI triple from Samuel Gil that made it 3-2 Lakeland. The next batter, Clayton Campbell, brought Gil home on a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-2 deficit.

Bautista would bounce back, retiring eight of the final nine batters he faced, but eventually took the loss.

The Blue Jays bats couldn’t heat up against the Flying Tigers bullpen, managing just one baserunner in the final four innings.

Dunedin, now 2-2 in the second half, will look for a bounce back in a Thursday matinee, with first pitch set for 11:00 ET. Fans can tune into the hometown call for free online at https://www.milb.com/dunedin/fans/radio.