Daytona drops fourth straight after St. Lucie rallies in sixth
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla—Ty Floyd struck out a career-high seven batters over 4.0 hitless innings, but the St. Lucie Mets scored four runs against the Daytona Tortugas bullpen in sixth to turn the tide in a 6-3 St. Lucie victory on Wednesday afternoon at Clover Park.
St. Lucie (10-7) earned their fourth win in a row despite notching just four hits against Daytona (8-9) pitching, which was hindered by ill-timed walks and two errors.
Daytona left two runners on base in a scoreless first, but took the lead in the second. Esmith Pineda led off with a double, then a throwing error on a bunt attempt put runners at second at third. Iverson Espinoza then looped a bloop single to right to score Pineda. Two batters later, Sammy Stafura lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Diego Omana, putting Daytona in front 2-0.
In the bottom of the inning, a dropped fly ball put a St. Lucie runner on second with no outs. Floyd set down the next two batters and appeared to be on the verge of escaping the inning with no outs. However, he committed a balk to score the runner, allowing the Mets to cut the deficit in half.
With a 2-1 lead, though, Floyd struck out two more batters in each of the third and fourth innings, working around a one-out walk in the latter frame, to finish off his outing with 4.0 hitless innings, one unearned run, one walk, and a career-high seven strikeouts.
He handed off the one-run cushion to Adrian Herrera, who issued a two-out walk in the fifth, but ended the inning with a pickoff.
In the sixth, though, the tide turned. After a leadoff hit, an error and a single loaded the bases. Two bases-loaded walks followed to put the Mets in front. A fielder’s choice followed that scored a third run before St. Lucie executed a double steal, with A.J. Ewing swiping home on the front end to cap off a four-run frame that gave St. Lucie a 5-2 lead.
The score stayed that way until Daytona threatened in the eighth. Carlos Sanchez led off with a single, then two walks loaded the bases with no outs. After a pitching change, a strikeout followed, before Espinoza drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly. Another walk re-loaded the bases, but a strikeout ended the inning with Daytona down 5-3.
St. Lucie then got the run right back on a Vincent Perozo RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. Daytona then went down in order in the ninth as the Mets claimed a 6-3 victory.
Daytona will play game three of a six-game series with the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday evening at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. and pregame coverage with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin on the Tortugas Radio Network at 5:55 p.m.
Tickets for every Tortugas home game are available on our website, by calling 386-257-3172, or by visiting the Jackie Robinson Ballpark box office at 110 E. Orange Avenue.
ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS
The Daytona Tortugas are in their tenth season as the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at historic Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida that was recently designated a National Commemorative Site. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.
