Tortugas drop fourth straight to fall into 3-0 hole in series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Ariel Almonte launched his 19th home run of the season, but the St. Lucie Mets broke a 2-2 tie with two runs in the seventh to defeat the Daytona Tortugas 4-3 on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
On a night where ground was broken pregame on Jackie Robinson Ballpark’s renovation project, St. Lucie (16-27, 38-71) marred the festivities with their third straight win to open the series as Daytona (22-20, 53-55) was held to three runs or fewer for the fifth straight game.
After a scoreless first inning, Daytona starter Ben Brutti ran into trouble in the second. After a leadoff walk, the right-hander struck out the next two batters before allowing a second walk. However, he ended the inning with his third punchout of the frame.
In the bottom of the second, Daytona took the lead against St. Lucie’s Edgar Moreta. Almonte led off by sneaking a solo home run over the left field wall, his 19th of the season to put the Tortugas on top.
Daytona wasn’t done, as Esmith Pineda and Luis Reyes followed with singles to put two on for Malvin Valdez, who hit a dribbler to the mound that was thrown away. Pineda scored and Reyes was waved around too, but was thrown out at the plate. Daytona didn’t score any further runs, but led 2-0.
Brutti followed with two more strikeouts in a scoreless third, running his total to six punchouts in the first three innings.
In the fourth, though, St. Lucie came to life. Yohairo Cuevas led off with a double, then went to third on an error. Another error allowed Cuevas to score, chasing Brutti for Graham Osman. Two batters later, a catcher’s interference loaded the bases for Marco Vargas, who grounded out, bringing in a run to tie the game.
With the score 2-2, Osman locked down with a 1-2-3 fifth, then worked around a single and hit batter in the sixth. Meanwhile, Daytona had three runners in the sixth, but a caught stealing hampered the scoring chance as two men were left on to end the inning.
In the seventh, the Mets pulled ahead. Carson Benge drew a leadoff walk, then went to third on a one-out single by Ronald Hernandez. Cuevas followed with a double down the right field line to score Benge. Hernandez was held at third, but Cuevas dug for third before halting and being caught in a rundown. Amidst the traffic jam, Cuevas was tagged out, but Hernandez raced home for a second run to put the Mets ahead 4-2.
Osman recovered to throw a scoreless eighth as he tied a career high with 5.0 innings pitched, striking out five and allowing the two runs on just three hits.
Daytona made a push in the eighth, though. Yerlin Confidan led off with an infield single, then stole second. He moved to third on a two-out infield hit by Almonte, before scoring on a wild pitch, closing the gap to 4-3.
The Tortugas drew no closer, though. In the ninth, Trey Faltine drew a two-out walk, but he never advanced any further as St. Lucie closed out a 4-3 victory.
Daytona will play game four of the series against the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Tomorrow is Margaritaville Night with the first . First pitch will follow at 6:35 p.m. Pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network and MiLB.tv/Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin at 6:20.
