Beltre drives in six, Jays blow out Threshers

CLEARWATER, FL – Behind a six-RBI, three-hit night from second baseman Manuel Beltre, the Blue Jays blasted Clearwater 12-4 on Thursday night at BayCare Ballpark, claiming a third straight win over the Threshers.

After a 45-minute rain delay, the game started with a bang for the Jays. After Eddie Micheletti reached on an error, Aaron Parker blasted a two-run home run to left field to open the scoring. Later in the inning, Manuel Beltre lined his own two-run shot to left, giving Dunedin a 4-0 lead.

The Jays scored again in the second, as Micheletti roped an RBI double to make it 5-0.

Five runs proved to be plenty of support for Dunedin starter Daniel Guerra, who worked five shutout innings with five strikeouts. The start marks the third consecutive outing of five innings or longer for Guerra.

Dunedin re-started the scoring in the seventh inning, as Beltre lined an RBI single and Tucker Toman collected an RBI knock, growing the lead to 7-0.

Clearwater broke up the shutout by scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh, but Dunedin responded in a big way in the eighth. The Blue Jays busted the game open, rallying for five runs on just two hits – the second of which being a bases-loaded, bases-clearing triple for Beltre, which pushed his RBI tally to career-high six.

After the Threshers tallied two more runs in the eighth inning, Julio Ortiz delivered a 1-2-3 ninth inning to finish the three-hour and six-minute contest.

Dunedin could clinch a series win on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm. Fans can listen to the Blue Jays call for free online at https://www.milb.com/dunedin/fans/radio.