CLEARWATER, Fla. (Interstat) – The Clearwater Threshers and Tampa Tarpons meet Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field, with the Threshers holding a slim two-game lead in the standings as the teams close out an eight-game season series.

Clearwater (50-35) carries a half-game edge over Tampa (48-37) into the matinee, but the Tarpons evened the season series at 4-4 with an 8-6 victory Saturday. The Threshers have won three of the last four meetings, but Interstat’s game simulator projects an 8-7 slugfest in favor of Clearwater.

Threshers designated hitter Jonathan Hogart enters on a hot streak. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Saturday’s loss, and has homered in two of his last three starts against Tampa. Over his past 10 games, Hogart is batting .286 with three home runs and eight RBI.

Tampa counters with designated hitter David McCann, who matched Hogart’s Saturday output with a 2-for-3, one-homer, four-RBI performance. McCann drove in seven runs in a 10-3 win at St. Lucie on July 4, and has five RBI in his last two games against Clearwater. He is hitting .300 with three home runs and 15 RBI over his past 10 games.

The game will be played in the afternoon. The weather forecast calls for a temperature of