Tortugas end road trip with speed, small ball, and timely hits
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla—Carlos Sanchez had two hits and three RBI, Luis Leones logged three hits, and Kyle Henley added two hits and three of the team’s seven stolen bases as the Daytona Tortugas raced past the St. Lucie Mets 8-4 on Sunday at Clover Park.
Daytona (10-11) ended a 2-4 series in St. Lucie (12-9) on a positive note, with the seven steals marking the second-most in a game in Tortugas history.
In the top of the first, Daytona struck first. Henley lined Nate Dohm’s first pitch of the game into right field for a leadoff single. After Dohm retired the next two, Henley stole second and third, right before Sammy Stafura walked. Dohm then fired low to first on a pickoff attempt, and Henley took advantage, racing home on the miscue for the game’s first run.
In the bottom of the first, though, St. Lucie responded. With one out, rehabbing big-leaguer Ronny Mauricio singled up the middle, then stole second. A.J. Ewing followed with a base hit to left to score Mauricio, evening the score at 1-1.
In the second, Daytona responded once more. Carter Graham drew a leadoff walk, then went to third on an error with one out. Ryan McCrystal then lined a base hit through a drawn-in infield to score Graham to put Daytona back in front, 2-1.
Daytona starter David Lorduy settled down after the first, recording scoreless second and third frames. He recorded two outs in the fourth, then departed with a runner at second for Irvin Machuca, who recorded the third out to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Daytona established some separation. Bunt singles by Leones and Henley opened the inning before stolen bases moved both into scoring position. Sanchez then looped a single into shallow center to score Leones. Two batters later, Stafura bounced to short, but the throw home was late and Henley scored. Esmith Pineda followed by lifting a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Sanchez with the third run of the frame to put Daytona in front 5-1.
With a cushion to work with, Machuca (1-0) didn’t need it, throwing 1-2-3 fifth and sixth innings, throwing 2.1 perfect innings with two strikeouts to line himself up for the win.
Daytona gave him a parting gift with another run in the seventh, as Graham lofted a sacrifice fly to right after a trio of walks had loaded the bases.
In the seventh, though, St. Lucie dinged up Daytona reliever Dominic Scheffler for three runs on four hits, with Trace Wilhoite singling in a run and Marco Vargas delivering a pinch-hit, two-run double off the bench, which closed the gap to 6-4.
The Tortugas, though, answered back in the eighth. McCrystal walked and Leones laid down his second bunt hit of the game (and third overall) to put two on with no outs. After a strikeout, an errant pickoff moved two into scoring position for Sanchez, who ripped a double off the top of the left-field wall, scoring both runners to double the lead to 8-4.
With some breathing room re-established, Scheffler settled down with a 1-2-3 eighth. He gave way to Victor Diaz in the ninth, who struck out the last two batters of a 1-2-3 inning to emphatically close out an 8-4 victory.
Daytona will have Monday off before returning to Jackie Robinson Ballpark to begin a three-game series and homestand with the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Tuesday night. Tuesday will be Taco Tuesday and Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Games open at 5:30 with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Pregame coverage with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, will begin on the Tortugas Radio Network at 6:20.
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.
