Ninth-Inning Rally Ends in Third-Straight Walkoff Win

WP: Andrew Walling (6-1, 2.48)

LP: Henry Gómez (0-2, BS (1), 5.27)

BOX SCORE:

CLEARWATER, FL – Ricardo Rosario delivered his second walkoff hit of the week as the Clearwater Threshers (54-25, 10-4) came back from two runs down in the ninth in a 5-4 walkoff win over the Palm Beach Cardinals (40-39, 3-11) on Saturday night at BayCare Ballpark. The Threshers and Cardinals finish their series on Sunday afternoon.

The Cardinals plated two runs in the first inning for the second-straight night, both coming on an RBI single by Michael Curialle. Emaarion Boyd responded with a leadoff triple off Palm Beach starter Hancel Rincón on the third pitch of the home half of the first. Bryan Rincon drove him in on a groundout to cut the Cardinals lead down to 2-1.

Palm Beach added another run on a two-out single by Leonardo Bernal in the second, Ryan Leitch threw him out trying to take second base to end the inning and keep the score at 3-1. Rosario singled with one out in the sixth and stole second. On a ground out to third by Otto Kemp, Rosario advanced to third on the throw to first. The return throw from Cardinals first baseman Adanson Cruz went into left field, allowing Rosario to bring the Threshers within one run at 3-2.

A leadoff home run in the ninth brought the Cardinals lead back up to two runs. Ryan Leitch started off the ninth with a one-out single to right field off Palm Beach reliever Henry Gómez. He moved to third on a double by Cole Moore. Troy Schreffler walked to load the bases and Boyd cut the lead to one on a fielder’s choice. With the bases still loaded, Rincon was hit by a pitch that allowed Cade Fergus, who had pinch-ran for Moore, to score and tie the game at four. Rosario delivered his second walkoff of the week with a single to left, scoring Schreffler to secure a 5-4 win.

Jonathan Petit allowed three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings in a no-decision. Danny Wilkinson tossed 3.0 shutout innings with one hit and two walks allowed as well as eight strikeouts. Josh Bortka threw 1.0 scoreless frame with one walk and two hits allowed. Andrew Walling (6-1) took the win in 2.0 innings with one run on one hit, one walk, and three strikeouts.

Danny Wilkinson struck out a career-high eight batters...It was the most strikeouts by a Threshers reliever in a game this season...He pitched three or more innings for the second time in his career...Walling moved into a tie for third with his sixth win...Rosario has two of the three walkoff hits this week for the Threshers...Rincon has driven in the tying run twice in the ninth against Palm Beach...Moore had his first game with multiple extra-base hits this season...The Threshers have now won ten of fourteen series this season...They have won eight games in walkoffs this season...The Threshers conclude their six-game series against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Sunday, July 9th... First pitch is at 12:00 pm EST... You can purchase tickets for Threshers games at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.