Bradenton Marauders 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 0
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Three Marauders’ pitchers combined to shut out Charlotte, even though they allowed 9 hits and a walk. Phillip Irwin made the start and earned his 4th win, going 7 innings and allowing 7 hits and the walk, with 5 strikeouts. He worked around base runners in 6 of the 7 innings, but two timely double plays helped his cause. He gave up a single in the first, but a 6-3 (SS Benji Gonzalez stepped on second and threw to 1B Aaron Baker) double play ended that inning. He gave up two singles to lead off the 2nd, then a pop up on a bunt let C Ramon Cabrera double a runner off second base. After another single, a strikeout ended the inning. Irwin left runners on base in the 3rd, 4th, and 7th innings, and retired the side in order in the 5th. In the 6th, he gave up a single, but Cabrera threw that runner out trying to steal second base.
Duke Welker pitched the 8th, and Ryan Beckman pitched the 9th for the Marauders, with similar results. They both gave up a single, then erased the runner with a double play.
Meanwhile, the Marauders’ batters scored single runs in each of four innings. RF Robbie Grossman led off the game with a walk, and advanced to third base on 2B Adalberto Santos’ single into right field. Grossman scored on an RBI ground out by Cabrera. The Marauders put one runner on base in each of the next three innings, but didn’t score again until the 5th. Grossman and Santos both walked with two outs in the 5th, and Cabrera again brought in Grossman, this time with a single lined into center field. Singles by CF Evan Chambers, LF David Rubinstein, and DH Calvin Anderson added another run in the 6th. Three more singles gave Bradenton their final run in the 7th: Grossman led off with a liner into center, then Cabrera singled, and 3B Elevys Gonzalez drove in Grossman with an RBI single. Grossman scored 3 of the Marauders’ 4 runs.
