Tortugas Hold Off Cardinals for 700th Franchise Win, Record 12th Straight at Home

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Daytona Tortugas erupted for eight runs in the second inning and survived a four-run Palm Beach rally in the ninth to hold off the Cardinals, 10-9, Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, earning the 700th victory in franchise history.

The win was Daytona's franchise-record 12th consecutive victory at home, surpassing the previous mark of 10 straight, while the Tortugas improved to 29-16 in the second half and opened a seven-game lead over Palm Beach atop the Florida State League East with 21 games remaining.

The Rundown

Palm Beach jumped in front immediately when Ryan Mitchell led off the game with a solo home run to center field against Jake Brink, but Daytona answered in the bottom of the first. Steele Hall singled with one out, stole second and scored when Arnaldo Lantigua lined a two-out single to right field to tie the game at one.

The Tortugas then broke the game open with an eight-run second inning.

Jirvin Morillo walked to begin the frame before Ichiro Cano singled to right, putting runners at the corners. Drew Davies followed with a double to right field that scored Morillo, and Jalen Hairston was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hall then singled to left, bringing home Cano and Davies to extend the lead to 4-1.

After Mulivai Levu lined out, Lantigua walked to reload the bases and force Palm Beach to make a pitching change. Adolfo Sanchez greeted Jacob Haley with a walk to force home Hairston before Morillo delivered the biggest swing of the night, launching a first-pitch grand slam to right-center field. The first Single-A home run of Morillo's career capped the eight-run inning and gave Daytona a commanding 9-1 advantage.

Palm Beach began chipping away in the third. Alexander Frias singled with one out before Sebastian Dos Santos launched a two-run homer to right field, cutting the Daytona lead to 9-3.

The Cardinals pulled two runs closer in the fifth. Dos Santos walked and Matthew Miura singled before Lisnerkin Lantigua entered from the bullpen. A balk scored Dos Santos, and an errant pickoff throw eventually allowed Miura to score, trimming the lead to 9-5.

From there, Lantigua settled in. The right-hander worked around three baserunners in the sixth and two more in the seventh without allowing another run, finishing 3.0 scoreless innings with three hits allowed and four strikeouts. Jesus Colina followed with a scoreless eighth, facing the minimum after Morillo caught Yairo Padilla attempting to steal second.

Daytona added what proved to be a critical insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Hairston walked before Hall replaced him on a fielder's choice. Hall then stole second and raced all the way home when catcher Jayden Lobliner threw the ball away, giving the Tortugas a 10-5 advantage.

Palm Beach made things tense in the ninth.

Miura opened the inning with a single against Logan Tanner before Tanner struck out Lobliner and J.P. Cabrera, bringing Daytona within one out of the victory. Trevor Haskins walked, and Heriberto Caraballo doubled to left to score Miura. Mitchell followed with a two-run single to right, cutting the lead to 10-8, before Padilla tripled to right-center to score Mitchell and make it a one-run game.

With the tying run standing at third, Tanner recovered and struck out Frias swinging to finally secure the 10-9 victory, Daytona's 700th all-time and its record-setting 12th consecutive win at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Stat of the Game

700 — Daytona recorded the 700th victory in franchise history, and did it while extending its home winning streak to a franchise-record 12 consecutive games, surpassing the previous record of 10.

Notes

• Daytona improved to 50-61 overall and 29-16 in the second half.
• The Tortugas improved to 9-3 in August.
• Daytona improved to 10-8 on Thursdays.
• The Tortugas improved to 39-42 in night games.
• Daytona improved to 33-24 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
• The Tortugas extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 12 games, surpassing the previous record of 10 consecutive home victories.
• Daytona recorded the 700th victory in franchise history.
• The Tortugas lead the seven-game series against Palm Beach, 3-1.
• Daytona moved seven games ahead of Palm Beach for first place in the FSL East with 21 games remaining.
• The Tortugas improved to 36-48 against right-handed starters.
• Daytona improved to 36-3 when leading after seven innings.
• The Tortugas improved to 18-13 in one-run games.
• Daytona improved to 26-6 when recording at least 10 hits.
• The Tortugas improved to 17-25 when allowing at least 10 hits.
• Daytona recorded its 25th comeback victory of the season.
• The Tortugas improved to 35-21 when hitting a home run.
• Daytona improved to 22-11 when homering with runners on base.
• The Tortugas improved to 43-16 when scoring at least five runs.
• Daytona improved to 10-48 when being outhit by its opponent.
• Hall recorded his second multi-hit game of the season.
• Hall recorded his third multi-RBI game of the season with two runs driven in.
• Lantigua recorded his 17th multi-hit game and 14th two-hit game of the season.
• Davies recorded his 12th multi-hit game of the season.
• Davies tied his career high with two hits for the 33rd time and first since Aug. 8 at St. Lucie.
• Morillo recorded his second multi-RBI game at the Single-A level and his first four-RBI game with Daytona.
• Morillo's second-inning grand slam was his first home run at the Single-A level.
• Cano extended his hitting streak to five games.
• Davies extended his hitting streak to four games.
• Davies extended his on-base streak to nine games.
• Hairston extended his on-base streak to eight games.
• Lantigua extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Sanchez extended his on-base streak to four games.

Up Next

The Tortugas continue their seven-game series against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Friday, August 14 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.