Fort Myers outlasts Stone Crabs 6-5 in 13

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (August 20, 2019) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs got excellent pitching for 12 innings Tuesday, but the Fort Myers Miracle broke through for three runs in the 13^th to beat Charlotte 4-1 at Charlotte Sports Park.
Charlotte (77-49, 42-18) starter Cristopher Sanchez struck out six batters over 4.1 innings of one-run ball. He held the Miracle to two hits while eclipsing 80 pitches for just the second time this year.
The Stone Crabs bullpen then put up seven consecutive zeroes before Fort Myers (69-55, 30-28) rallied in the 13^th. In a 1-1 game, Stone Crabs reliever Chandler Raiden (6-4) allowed a walk to Andrew Bechtold. With two on, Aaron Whitefield laid down a bunt single to load the bases. The next batter was Yeltsin Encarnacion, who pulled a two-run single over first to make it 3-1. Raiden then issued a wild pitch to chase home another run and bring the score to 4-1.
Charlotte added a run in the bottom of the inning on a Ronaldo Hernandez single, but fell 4-2.
Simon Rosenblum-Larson and Alex Valverde each worked multiple innings of scoreless relief in the loss.
The Stone Crabs got the scoring going in the third when first baseman Joey Roach slashed a leadoff double over the third base bag. After he advanced to third on a Zach Rutherford groundout, Niko Hulsizer drove in Roach on a fielder's choice to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth, Fort Myers left fielder Jacob Pearson singled to right field. After he stole second, Trey Cabbage roped an RBI single to right to tie the game 1-1.
Charlotte will look to get even at 7 p.m. in Fort Myers Wednesday. Stephen Woods Jr. (9-3, 1.98) will make the start for the Stone Crabs, against Tyler Watson (1-5, 3.71) of the Miracle. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.