Lopez, Castillo Homer, but Charlotte Prevails, 5-4
TAMPA, Fla. - A quality start by RHP Alexander Vizcaino and home runs by Jason Lopez and Diego Castillo was not enough as the Tampa Tarpons fell, 5-4, to the Charlotte Stone Crabs on Saturday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.Tampa (24-25, 52-63) has now lost four-straight games and sits
TAMPA, Fla. - A quality start by RHP
Tampa (24-25, 52-63) has now lost four-straight games and sits one game back of first-place Dunedin with 24 games remaining in the regular season. Lakeland (1.5 GB) and Clearwater (2.5 GB) also remain in the hunt for the final North Division playoff spot.
Vizcaíno retired seven of the first eight batters he faced before
Lopez answered by clobbered a leadoff homer in the home half of the third off RHP
After retiring the side on nine pitches in the fourth, Vizcaíno was not able to hold the 4-1 lead in the fifth.
Franco lined a single to left-center, and Palomaki scored as Florial misplayed the ball, allowing Franco to take second. On the next pitch, Hernandez sliced a single into right, scoring Franco to tie game before getting thrown out stretching for second base.
Vizcaíno returned for the sixth and worked around an error in a scoreless frame. The 22-year-old tallied nine strikeouts while yielding four runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings, walking none on 99 pitches (79 strikes) in his ninth quality start of the season.
RHP
Romero (W, 10-4) retired eight-straight before yielding a leadoff single by Castillo in the seventh. The 22-year-old was lifted after 89 pitches (63 strikes) after allowing four earned runs on six hits in six innings, walking none while striking out three.
Valdez (L, 0-3) stranded Palomaki in the seventh and a one-out double by Mosies Gomez in the eighth before facing the minimum in the ninth, getting Rutherford to bounce into a 5-4-3 double-play. The 23-year-old tallied three strikeouts over his three innings of relief.
LHP Christopher Sanchez (H, 2) retired all six batters he faced in relief of Romero. RHP
Castillo (2-for-4, HR, 2RBI, R) logged his second-straight multi-hit game, including his third home run of the season - his first since 6/23. Lopez (1-for-3, HR, RBI, R) extended his season-best on-base streak to nine games.
The series concludes on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., with RHP
As part of Family Funday Sunday, fans can take advantage of $40 Family 4-Packs, which include four tickets, four hats and four $5 concession vouchers (Family 4-Packs are only available at the George M. Steinbrenner Field Box Office. In addition, Kids 14-and-under can the run the bases after the game.