Marauders Blasted from Clearwater, 10-2

CLEARWATER – The Bradenton Marauders, Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, were outslugged Tuesday, falling 10-2 to the Clearwater Threshers at Bright House Field.

Bradenton got off to a good start, loading the bases in the first inning off Clearwater starter Julio Rodriguez.  But the righthander got out of the jam, leaving the bases packed.  The Marauders left six runners on base without scoring in the first four innings.
 
Clearwater jumped on the board right away with Jiwan James leading off in the first with single.  He took second on Evan Chamber’s error in center and scored on a single by Jonathan Singleton.  Three runs scored an inning later on homers by Travis Mattair and Troy Hanzawa for a 4-0 lead.

The homerun barrage rolled into the fourth when Cesar Hernandez launched his fourth of the year to go ahead 5-1.  It was 9-1 after the sixth inning.  Clearwater plated four runs in the frame, including a solo homerun by Singleton.  Mattair also knocked a two-run double.

Mattair became the second player this year to hit two homeruns against Bradenton in a single game when he iced the game with another shot in the eighth.  The five homeruns are the most by an opposing team in Marauders history.  Each of Bradenton’s three pitchers allowed at least one homerun.

On offense, Bradenton got two-hit nights from Robbie Grossman, Chambers and Carlos Paulino.  Grossman extended his hitting streak to 14 games, tying Calvin Anderson for the longest in team history.

Bradenton returns to Bright House Field Wednesday at 12pm for a matinee with the Threshers.  Nathan Baker will throw against Brody Colvin.  Radio coverage begins at 11:45 on 1280-AM WTMY.  For more information visit BradentonMarauders.com.