Excellent All-Around Effort Leads Tortugas to 8-1 Rout

DAYTONA BEACH—Hector Rodriguez stroked four hits to pace a 12-hit attack and Kevin Abel and Johnathan Harmon kept the opposing offense under wraps as the Daytona Tortugas defeated the St. Lucie Mets 8-1 on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (12-19) earned their third straight win in complete fashion, with a strong offense, error-free defense, and a pitching effort that only allowed multiple runners for St. Lucie (8-23) in a single inning.

After both starters faced the minimum in the first inning, Daytona took advantage of a bout of wildness from St. Lucie starter Saul Garcia in the second. Cade Hunter was plunked to begin the inning, then stole second. After moving to third on a groundout, Hunter came home when Garcia uncorked a wild pitch.

An inning later, Daytona put together a two-out rally as Rodriguez legged out a double and came home on a Carlos Jorge RBI single. Another single and walk loaded the bases, but Garcia struck out Ariel Almonte on a full-count offering to keep it a 2-0 game.

On the other side, Kevin Abel was sharp, allowing just one hit as he twirled 4.0 scoreless innings, striking out six batters and walking two.

He passed the baton off to Johnathan Harmon who also was on his game. He retired the first five men he faced before brushing aside a two-out infield single in the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tortugas went to work blowing the game open. Hunter led off with a walk, swiped his second base of the game, and scored on a Victor Acosta RBI single. Yerlin Confidan followed with an RBI triple to right-center. He then came home on a sacrifice fly from Andruw Salcedo to put Daytona ahead 5-0.

One inning later, the Tortugas thoroughly put the game away. Rodriguez led off with a single and scored two batters later when Cam Collier ripped a double to deep right-center. Hunter drove in another tally with a sac fly and Collier came around on a single from Almonte to make it 8-0 with a second-straight three-run frame.

In the eighth, Harmon ran into his only real trouble of the night. With one out, he allowed a solo home run to Luis Castillo and then a walk. However, Scott Ota lined out to left and Almonte doubled Jett Williams off first for a double play to end the inning.

After Rodriguez collected his fourth hit, an eighth-inning double, Harmon (2-1) returned for the ninth and retired the Mets to finish off a 5.0-inning outing in which he allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks, nailing down his second win and Daytona’s third straight win.

The Tortugas will square off against St. Lucie in the fifth game of the series on Saturday night. It is First Responders Night with all first responders receiving free admission with a badge or other proof of employment. The first 1,000 fans will also receive a voucher for a First pitch is at 6:35 with gates opening at 5:30. RHP Chris McElvain (0-1, 2.70) will get the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie RHP Douglas Orellana (1-1, 2.65). Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network and Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 6:20 from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. 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.