Tarpons’ Offense Overwhelms Tortugas in 15-3 Loss

TAMPA, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas surrendered 17 hits and 12 walks Wednesday night as the Tampa Tarpons pulled away for a 15-3 victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Daytona scored first and collected nine hits, but Tampa answered with five runs in the second inning and scored in six different frames to even the six-game series at one game apiece.

The Rundown

Daytona struck first in the top of the second. Rafhlmil Torres and Sherman Johnson opened the rally with consecutive singles before Drew Davies loaded the bases with another base hit. Anielson Buten followed with a groundout that scored Torres and gave the Tortugas a 1-0 lead.

Tampa answered immediately with five runs in the bottom half. Blake Cyr and Tyce Armstrong drew back-to-back walks before Ediel Rivera launched a three-run home run to right field. Dax Kilby followed with a triple, ending Iker Redona's outing, and Yostin Pena greeted Jake Brink with an RBI single. Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II then doubled home Pena to put the Tarpons ahead, 5-1.

The Tortugas got one back in the third when Jalen Hairston led off the inning with his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to right field. Ichiro Cano and Mulivai Levu followed with singles, but Tampa escaped further damage before adding another run in the bottom half to make it 6-2.

Tampa continued to stretch the lead with two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth. The Tortugas' final run came in the top of the fifth after Hairston walked and Cano singled. With two outs, Johnson lined an RBI single through the right side to score Hairston, cutting the deficit to 8-3 before Cano was thrown out at home trying to score a second run on the play.

The Tarpons responded with another run in the fifth before breaking the game open in the sixth. After Cyr singled and Armstrong walked against Lisnerkin Lantigua, Pena launched a two-run home run to left field to make it 12-3.

Tampa added three more runs in the eighth on RBI singles from Pena and Gutierrez-Contreras II, finishing the night with 17 hits and 12 walks.

Daytona was held scoreless over its final four innings as Tampa closed out the 15-3 final and evened the series.

Stat of the Game

15 — Daytona surrendered 15 or more runs for just the fourth time this season.

Notes

• Daytona fell to 53-63 overall and 32-18 in the second half.
• The Tortugas fell to 12-6 in August.
• Daytona fell to 8-13 on Wednesdays.
• The Tortugas fell to 41-44 in night games.
• Daytona fell to 18-38 on the road.
• The six-game series is tied, 1-1.
• Daytona and Tampa are tied, 4-4, in the season series.
• The Tortugas fell to 39-50 against right-handed starters.
• Daytona fell to 1-48 when trailing after seven innings.
• The Tortugas fell to 18-26 when allowing 10 or more hits.
• Daytona fell to 37-22 when hitting a home run.
• The Tortugas fell to 35-24 when scoring first.
• Daytona fell to 8-48 when scoring fewer than five runs.
• The Tortugas fell to 11-49 when being outhit by their opponent.
• Daytona pitchers issued 12 walks in the loss.
• Johnson made his professional debut and went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
• Levu recorded his second consecutive multi-hit game and third multi-hit game of the season.
• Cano recorded his 25th multi-hit game and 18th two-hit game of the season.
• Hairston extended his hitting streak to five games.
• Hairston extended his on-base streak to 13 games.
• Cano extended his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Lantigua extended his on-base streak to 12 games.
• Davies extended his on-base streak to 14 games.

Up Next

The Tortugas continue their six-game series against the Tampa Tarpons on Thursday, August 20 at George M. Steinbrenner Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.