Daytona leads start to finish in snapping a four-game skid
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Cole Schoenwetter fired 4.0 scoreless innings and the Daytona Tortugas scored four runs in the first two innings in a wire-to-wire 6-4 victory over the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Daytona (26-34) snapped a four-game skid as St. Lucie (32-27) left nine runners on base and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
In the first, Schoenwetterallowed a sun-aided double, but retired the next three batters, including a pair of strikeouts, to work around the leadoff baserunner.
In the bottom of the inning, Daytona gave him a nice cushion. Kyle Henley led off with his first triple of the season, then scored on a Sammy Stafura RBI single. After a walk and sacrifice bunt, Esmith Pineda singled through the middle of a drawn-in infield to drive in two more runs to give the Tortugas a 3-0 lead.
An inning later, Daytona added to the lead. Iverson Espinoza led off with a double down the left field line, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Henley stepped in and lined out to left, but it was plenty deep enough to score Espinoza to push the lead to 4-0.
With a sizeable advantage, Schoenwetter settled in with a 1-2-3 second, then brushed aside a two-out walk in a scoreless third. In the fourth, he surrendered a one-out double to Yohairo Cuevas, but again put up a zero, as the right-hander finished with 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out four.
Ovis Portes came on for the fifth and surrendered a pair of one-out walks, but retired the next two batters to keep the Mets off the board. In the sixth, he erased a leadoff walk with a caught stealing, but surrendered a solo homer to Trace Wilhoite to trim the lead to 4-1. Nonetheless, it was the lone run Portes (1-1) allowed in 2.0 innings on the mound as he left in line for then win.
Daytona then took advantage of a miscue in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead. With two down, Malvin Valdez walked and Espinoza reached on a booted ground ball that extended the inning. Luis Leones followed with a sharp ground ball just inside the third-base line, scoring both runners to put Daytona in front 6-1.
In the seventh, though, a walk, bunt single, and double steal put runners at second and third and no outs for St. Lucie. With one out, a ground out brought in one run, then a Colin Houck single brought in a second, trimming the lead to 6-3.
In the eighth, Gabe Starks took the hill for Daytona and quickly retired the first two batters he faced. However, a bloop double was followed by an RBI single from Nick Rosselli, with the advantage shrinking to 6-4.
However, that was as close as the Mets would get. Starks returned for the ninth and fired a 1-2-3 inning to close out his first save of the season to finish a 6-4 win.
Daytona will play game four at Jackie Robinson Ballpark against the St. Lucie Mets on Friday night. Tomorrow, Daytona’s alter-ego, Los Rumberos de Daytona take the field for Copa de la Diversion and Dia de los Muertos. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Pregame coverage on Tuesday with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin on the Tortugas Radio Network and MiLB.tv at 6:20 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.
