The Fort Myers Miracle were unable to overcome an early five-run deficit Friday night in a 5-3 loss to the Bradenton Marauders in front of a Hammond Stadium crowd of more than 8,100 fans.

The Miracle fall to 0-2 to start the Florida State League season after also losing 18-3 Thursday night to the Marauders in Bradenton.

After allowing four home runs in the season opener, another long ball was the difference in the Miracle home opener as well.

Leading 2-0 in the fourth, Marauders third baseman Jeremy Farrell smacked an impressive three-run blast over the left-field wall to establish the 5-0 cushion. Farrell has had one of the most impressive starts a player can have with three home runs and 10 RBI in just two games. The son of Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell was an eighth-round draft pick by the Marauders’ parent club, the Pittsburgh Pirates, in 2008.

Miracle starting pitcher Michael Tarsi was charged with the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) in four innings of work.

After a slow start at the plate, the Miracle finally got their offense going in the fourth. After Deibinson Romero singled, Paul Kelly lined a double off the right-center field wall to score Romero from first.

Fort Myers continued to charge back in the next inning as Drew Thompson hit a one-out solo home run over the wall in right field.

Bradenton’s Jeff Locke was pulled from the game after retiring the next batter, falling one out short of being eligible for the victory.

After Michael Felix finished out the inning, Diego Moreno pitched two scoreless frames to put himself in line with the win.

The Miracle were able to keep the game close with an impressive defensive effort, recording five double plays on the night. The held the Marauders scoreless over the final five innings as Shooter Hunt pitched a scoreless fifth with Tony Davis and Billy Bullock pitching two innings apiece to finish out the night.

The Miracle continued to make things interesting late in the game, as Chris Herrmann added an eighth-inning solo home run to pull them within two, but Noah Krol finished off the Miracle by pitching a perfect 1-2-3 ninth to record the save.

Friday night marked the return of new Miracle manager Jake Mauer to Hammond Stadium. He became the second manager in the team’s history to both play and manage the team. Mauer spent parts of the 2003 and 2005 seasons as a infielder, before an injury ended his playing career. He took over this season for outgoing manager Jeff Smith, who was promoted to Double-A New Britain.

Mauer spent the past two seasons managing the Twins Gulf Coast League team, where he was named 2009 GCL Manager of the Year.

The Miracle host the Marauders again at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.