Gardner’s Late Blast Not Enough as Rays End Palms’ Scoreless Streak

 By Vin Castillo, Palm Beach Post

MIAMI — All good things must come to an end—even a run like the Miami Palms' 31 consecutive scoreless innings on the mound. On Monday night at Coca-Cola Palms Park, the Tampa Bay Rays handed the Palms a 4–3 defeat, snapping the streak in the eighth inning and opening their series with a dramatic comeback win.

Miami had ridden a tidal wave of pitching brilliance, shutting out opponents across three straight games. For seven innings, it looked like that wave might carry them even further, with Manny Parra keeping the Rays off the board and the Palms clinging to a 1–0 lead.

Then came the eighth.

With one out, Jose Martinez drew a walk—the Rays’ first free pass of the game—and Austin Meadows laced a single to center to tie the score. Hunter Renfroe followed with a slicing single into the right field corner, plating two and silencing the home crowd as Tampa Bay surged to a 3–1 lead.

“We felt like we were cruising,” said Miami skipper Scott Hatteberg. “Manny was sharp all night. It turned quick. That’s baseball.”

Parra (0–4) took a tough-luck loss, allowing three runs over eight strong innings while striking out three. The lefty was just four outs from snapping a personal losing streak that now extends through four starts.

Still, the Palms refused to fold.

Jaspero Gonzalez launched a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth—his fourth of the season—to cut the deficit to 3–2. But Kevin Cash’s club turned to Nick Anderson in the ninth, and although Brett Gardner hit a 9th inning homer, Brandon Lowe had already done the same in the top of the  9th with a decisive solo homer off Wandy Peralta.

“Gardner came through huge,” said right fielder Frank Sohn. “We all felt the lift. We just couldn’t slam the door in the ninth.”

Gardner finished 3-for-5 with a home run, while Gonzalez added a solo shot of his own in the eighth. Nick Markakis and Pat Grant were the only Palms starters held hitless, though Markakis did draw a walk.

Tyler Glasnow earned the win for Tampa, fanning six over seven innings of work. Anderson’s ninth inning got bumpy but he locked down the save despite surrendering Gardner’s blast.

With the loss, the Palms fall to 7–10.

“We’ve been grinding every game,” said Hatteberg. “We’ll take this one on the chin, reset tomorrow, and keep our heads up. These guys believe.”

The series continues Tuesday, with Miami’s Dylan Bundy scheduled to take the mound.

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