Karalus turns in five shutout innings in 5-2 loss to Tampa

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (July 20, 2017) - Charlotte Stone Crabs right-hander Reece Karalus spun five shutout innings in relief Thursday, but the Stone Crabs' ninth inning comeback fell short in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Yankees at Charlotte Sports Park.
Karalus allowed only one hit while striking out five. His five innings of work set a Stone Crabs' season high for a reliever. His five punchouts in relief also tied a team high.
With the Stone Crabs (44-50, 13-13) trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth, David Rodríguez singled with two outs before Jim Haley and Peter Maris both walked to load the bases. Tampa (54-42, 15-11) then brought in Jordan Foley, who struck out Ryan Boldt to end the game and earn his second save.
The Yankees scored all five of their runs against Stone Crabs starter Tyler Brashears (3-4). In a scoreless game in the top of the second, Tampa left fielder Alexander Palma singled before Vicente Conde doubled him home to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Still up by one in the third, Kyle Holder started the inning with a double to center. Two batters later, Gosuke Katoh lined a single to right to score Holder and give Tampa a 2-0 lead. After a flyout and a hit by pitch, Palma scorched a single to right to plate Katoh and extend the Yankees' advantage to 3-0.
With Tampa still up by that margin in the fourth, Conde homered to left to make it 4-0. After a hit batter and a Holder single, Angel Aguilar grounded a base hit to center to bring the Yankees lead to 5-0.
Down by two in the bottom of the fifth, Charlotte got two straight walks before Haley pulled an RBI double to left to make the score 5-1. The next batter was Maris, who pulled a single into right to plate Haley and cut the deficit to 5-2.
That was as close as the Stone Crabs would get, as Tampa starter Dillon Tate (5-0) turned in seven innings of two-run ball. He struck out three and allowed only four hits.
The Stone Crabs will hit the road Friday to begin a series with Palm Beach at 6:30 p.m. Travis Ott (3-1, 3.48) makes the start for Charlotte against Junior Fernandez (5-3, 3.98) of Palm Beach.