Marauders pitching shuts down Blue Jays win streak

BRADENTON, FL – The Blue Jays win streak was snapped at six, as the team was shutout through eight innings in a 7-1 loss at the hands of Bradenton on Wednesday night at LECOM Park.

Dunedin’s offense, which entered the game hitting .295 across their six game win streak, was limited to just four hits in the defeat.

The contest opened as a pitchers’ duel, as Bradenton starter Antwone Kelly struck out seven in four innings of work. Jays’ starter Juaron Watts-Brown allowed an unearned run in the third inning, but ended the frame with three straight strikeouts. He followed the act by stranding runners on second and third base in the same fashion in the fourth.

The Marauders chased Watts-Brown in the fifth, as Braylon Bishop cracked an RBI double to make it 2-0, ending the right hander’s night. Bishop eventually came into score on an RBI double from Omar Alfonzo that pushed the deficit to 3-0.

The Blue Jays put the leadoff man on in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but couldn’t bring a run in against Bradenton’s bullpen until the ninth.

Bradenton’s bats busted the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring four runs on two hits and a whopping five walks to balloon the lead to 7-0.

In the ninth, the Blue Jays opened the inning with back-to-back singles from Tucker Toman and Manuel Beltre. After his single dropped into right, Beltre was thrown out at second base after a bobble by Bishop in left field.

Toman eventually scored from third on a wild pitch to avert the shutout, but Edward Duran and Cristian Feliz went down in order to end the game.

The Blue Jays return to action in Bradenton on Thursday night at 6:30. Fans can listen to the hometown broadcast for free online at https://www.milb.com/dunedin/fans/radio.