Walling Fans Six as Threshers Cruise to 9-3 Win

WP: Andrew Walling (4-0, 2.70)

LP: Irv Carter (0-1, 21.60)

BOX SCORE:

DUNEDIN, FL – Andrew Walling struck out a season-high six batters in 3.1 scoreless innings as the Clearwater Threshers (23-8) won 9-3 in an eight-inning victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays (17-14) on Friday night at TD Ballpark. The Threshers and Blue Jays match up again on Saturday night for game five of the first of four series between the neighboring teams.

Jordan Viars led off the second inning with a single and stole second base. Jordan Dissin walked and both runners tagged and advanced on a flyout by Chad Castillo. Freylin Minyety grounded out to third with one out, and Viars, who was off on contact, scored the first run of the game. Erick Brito drove in Dissin on a single off Dunedin starter Irv Carter that made it 2-0 Threshers.

The two-out rally continued on a walk to Emaarion Boyd, with Brito stealing second and third in the at-bat. After Boyd stole second, Justin Crawford drove both runners home on a single off Blue Jays reliever Kelvin Perez that doubled the Threshers lead to 4-0.

Otto Kemp led off the third inning with a home run to bring the lead up to 5-0. Dunedin put up three runs in the fourth on a single, sacrifice fly and a wild pitch that cut the Threshers lead to 5-3.

Gabriel Rincones Jr. led off the fifth with a single to right off Dunedin reliever Kevin Miranda. He was out on a fielder’s choice by Kemp, who moved to second on an infield single from Viars. With two outs and two strikes on him, Castillo singled to right and Kemp came around to score from second to extend the Threshers advantage to 6-3.

Boyd reached on a throwing error by Blue Jays shortstop Tucker Toman with one out in the sixth and stole second base. Rincones Jr. doubled him home to bring the lead up to 7-3. On the very next pitch, Kemp lined a two-bagger down the left field line to plate Rincones Jr. and brought the Threshers lead back up to five at 8-3.

Dissin led off the seventh with a walk and moved to second on a single by Minyety. Brito singled to load the bases before Boyd drove in a run on the first pitch of his at-bat to increase the lead to 9-3. A lightning delay ended the game before the ninth inning could begin, finishing with a 9-3 win for the Threshers.

Alex McFarlane allowed three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and four walks in a no-decision. Walling (4-0) took the victory in 3.1 shutout innings, striking out six and walking one without allowing a hit. Danny Wilkinson tossed 1.0 scoreless frame, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Walling tied a career-high with six strikeouts... He equaled Jon Henriquez’s win total to tie him for the team lead...Viars recorded his second multi-hit game of the season... Dissin became the fourth Thresher to record an on-base streak of ten or more games in 2023... Kemp had a leadoff home run for the second-straight night...Everyone in the lineup reached base at least once... The Threshers return to Dunedin to face the Blue Jays (Single-A, Toronto Blue Jays) on Saturday, May 13th … First pitch is at 6:30 PM... You can purchase tickets for the Threshers season at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.