Mark Kolozsvary cleared the bases with one swing Sunday afternoon, launching a grand slam to right-center field that blew open a tight game and sealed a series victory for the Clearwater Threshers at BayCare Ballpark.

The 30-year-old catcher, rehabbing with Clearwater after an injury kept him out of spring training, drove in four runs in the fourth inning to give the Threshers a 6-0 cushion. They held on to beat the Daytona Tortugas 8-5 on Sunday, July 26, extending their winning streak to three games.

It was the first grand slam at BayCare Ballpark since rehabbing catcher Caleb Ricketts hit one in June 2025. The blast also tied Kolozsvary's personal single-game RBI record.

A slow build, then fireworks

The game was scoreless through two innings. Robert Phelps singled to lead off the third, eventually scoring on an Alirio Ferrebus sacrifice fly to center field for the 1-0 lead.

The fourth inning changed everything. Juan Villavicencio walked, Matthew Ferrara reached on an error, and Lyle Miller-Green was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After Phelps doubled the lead with a sacrifice fly, John Spikerman walked to reload the bases for Kolozsvary. He didn't miss.

Kolozsvary's road back

Kolozsvary signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization before the 2026 season after spending time with the Boston Red Sox. He has appeared in just 11 major league games across his career. An unspecified injury sidelined him for all of spring training, and his rehab assignment landed him in Clearwater.

He has scored a run in each of his last four games with the Threshers.

Threshers hold off late rally

Daytona chipped away with unearned runs in the fifth and sixth innings, cutting the lead to 6-2. Clearwater answered in the seventh when Miller-Green and Victor Cardoza smacked back-to-back two-out singles to plate two more runs, pushing the lead to 8-2.

The Tortugas scored three in the eighth to make it 8-5, but closer Tegan Cain struck out two of the final three batters to end it.

Cole Gilley turned in four scoreless innings with four strikeouts in a no-decision. Tyler Bowen earned the win to improve to 4-1. The Threshers improved to 56-39 overall and 16-13 in the second half.

Miller-Green recorded his first multi-hit game as a Thresher.

What's next

The Threshers hit the road for a six-game series against the Jupiter Hammerheads beginning Tuesday, July 28, with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the next homestand are available at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457.