Pinstriped Performances: Tarpons Take Center Stage, Hang 21 On Jays

As Tropical Storm Elsa tore through the Northeast, only the Yankees’ Florida outposts were able to play any games on Thursday. The Tarpons in particular did not disappoint, ravaging Dunedin in the first game of a twin bill, while the FCL Yanks won for the fifth time in their first six contests.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (36-17): Scranton and Syracuse were rained out and will play a doubleheader on Saturday.

Somerset Patriots (36-19): The Patriots’ matchup against Erie was postponed; the two teams will play a single-admission doubleheader tomorrow.

Hudson Valley Renegades (36-19): The Renegades and Cyclones were postponed and will play two on Saturday.

Trevor Hauver (Photo by John Brophy / Pinstriped Prospects)

Tampa Tarpons (37-17): The Tarpons walloped the Blue Jays in the doubleheader opener 21-2, scoring all of their runs over a five-inning stretch, before dropping the second game 3-1 and managing just two hits.

Game 1

• Star of the Game: Austin Wells – 3-for-3, 1 home run (7), 1 double, 6 RBI, 4 runs scored, 2 walks. Wells had his best offensive game of the season, crushing a three-run blast in the fifth to go along with a two-run double in the third and a sac fly in the seventh
• Anthony Volpe: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored, 1 strikeout
• Trevor Hauver: 3-for-5, 1 triple, 4 RBI, 3 runs scored, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. After a cold stretch in mid-June, Hauver has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games
• Everson Pereira: 3-for-5, 1 triple, 3 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 walk. What a phenomenal full-season ball debut for the 20-year-old. Pereira smacked a bases-clearing triple in the fourth that put the Tarpons up by six
• Andres Chaparro: 1-for-4, 1 home run (6), 3 RBI, 1 run scored, 2 strikeouts
• Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-4, 1 home run (3), 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 2 strikeouts. Chaparro and Narvaez went back-to-back in the sixth to lengthen Tampa’s advantage to 13 runs
• Pat DeMarco: 4-for-4, 1 double, 5 runs scored, 1 walk. On most other nights, DeMarco would be the game’s first star. Tonight, he doesn’t even make the poll
• Yoendrys Gómez: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 50 pitches (34 strikes). This was the best and longest start of the 21-year-old’s season
• Anderson Munoz: 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 40 pitches (29 strikes). Munoz earned the win in relief
• Nick Paciorek: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches (10 strikes). The 2019 7th-round pick made one appearance for the FCL Yanks last month before earning the promotion and made his Tampa debut on Thursday
• Wellington Diaz: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 24 pitches (15 strikes)

Game 2

• Star of the Game: Matt Sauer – 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 71 pitches (49 strikes). Sauer took the loss in this one but really didn’t deserve it. He allowed just a pair of RBI singles and a steal of home and got no run support
• Anthony Volpe: 0-for-1, 1 run scored, 1 walk
• Trevor Hauver: 1-for-2, 1 double, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
• Jesus Bastidas: 1-for-3, 2 strikeouts
• Edgar Barclay: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches (15 strikes)

Yankees prospect Ryder Green at the plate during a minor league spring training game on March 12, 2019. (Robert M. Pimpsner/Pinstriped Prospects)

FCL Yankees (5-1): The Yanks rode solid pitching to a 3-0 shutout of the Tigers. They were supposed to play another game, but that one was suspended due to weather in the second inning and will be resumed on July 14.

• Star of the Game: Ryder Green – 2-for-3, 1 double, 2 runs scored, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Green put together his first multi-hit game of the season and is 4-for-11 overall in the early going
• Alex Vargas: 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 walk. Vargas put the Yanks on the board in the third with an RBI single
• Jasson Dominguez: 0-for-4, 2 strikeouts
• Raimfer Salinas: 0-for-4, 1 strikeout
• Jose Martinez: 0-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 strikeout
• Blane Abeyta: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
• Ben Keizer: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Keizer, a nondrafted free agent signing last summer, made one disastrous appearance with Tampa on May 7 before going on the shelf with an injury. He acquitted himself nicely in his FCL debut