FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 15, 2018) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs rallied for two runs in the eighth but fell a run short in a 3-2 loss to the Fort Myers Miracle at Hammond Stadium Wednesday.Trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Stone Crabs (65-53, 31-20) right fielder
FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 15, 2018) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs rallied for two runs in the eighth but fell a run short in a 3-2 loss to the Fort Myers Miracle at Hammond Stadium Wednesday.
Trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Stone Crabs (65-53, 31-20) right fielder Miles Mastrobuoni and first baseman Brendan McKay both drew walks. With two outs, Robbie Tenerowicz ripped a two-run double to the left field corner to make it a 3-2 game. However, Fort Myers (59-61, 31-21) righty Adam Bray retired the next four batters to seal his second save.
Miracle starter Brusdar Graterol (4-2) shut down the Stone Crabs for seven-plus innings, surrendering just one run on three hits while striking out six and walking three.
Stone Crabs starter José Mujica (1-1) went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
In a scoreless game in the bottom of the second, Miracle designated hitter Alex Kirilloff led off the inning by slicing a double to the left field corner. After a pair of walks loaded the bases, Ben Rortvedt pulled a single into right to give Fort Myers a 1-0 lead. The next batter was Caleb Hamilton, who flied out to center to score Ryan Costello and extend the lead to 2-0.
The Miracle added a run in the sixth on a Jose Miranda RBI single to make it 3-0.
With the Stone Crabs' lead in the division trimmed to 0.5 games over Fort Myers, Charlotte will try and maintain first place at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Brian Shaffer (1-0, 3.68) makes the start for the Crabs against Michael Pineda (MLB Rehab) of the Miracle. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.
