Dunedin Stays Undefeated At Home With Comeback Win

The Dunedin Blue Jays stayed undefeated at home on Wednesday evening at Dunedin Stadium, staging a seventh inning comeback to defeat the Fort Myers Miracle 8-4. With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 4-0 at home in 2018 and pull even at 6-6 overall on the season.
Dunedin took an early 1-0 lead against Fort Myers starter LHP Anthony Marzi in the second inning. C Riley Adams and 1B Nash Knight each singled to lead off the inning. After a fly out, DH Rodrigo Orozco singled to right to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by 2B Yeltsin Gudino brought home Adams and the game's first run.
Fort Myers answered in the top of the third, using a double by Joe Cronin and a fielding error by Dunedin to even the score.
The Miracle scored again in the fourth, stringing together three singles for a run, and added two more runs in the fifth on three singles, a sacrifice fly, and a passed ball to take a take a 4-1 lead.
Dunedin began battling back in the fifth. Gudino led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a double by rehabbing OF Dalton Pompey. A throwing error by Miracle SS Alex Perez on a ground ball off the bat of Warmoth brought home both Gudino and Pompey, pulling Dunedin within a run at 4-3.
Dunedin starter RHP Patrick Murphy kept the game close, delivering a quality start on the mound for the Jays. Murphy went 6.0 innings and allowed four runs, just two of which were earned, while striking out six.
After six strong innings from Murphy, RHP Nick Hartman took over in the seventh. Fort Myers loaded the bases against Hartman with one out, but a strikeout and fly out allowed him to escape from the jam.
The Jays offense broke out in the seventh inning, scoring five times on four hits to give Dunedin a commanding late lead. Warmoth walked to lead off the inning and scored when 3B Bradley Jones followed with a double to tie the game. A single by Adams put runners on the corners, and Knight followed with a single of his own to give Dunedin a 5-4 lead.
With two runners on, LF Eduard Pinto dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position with one out. Fort Myers countered by intentionally walking Orozco, loading the bases. A sacrifice fly by Gudino stretched the Dunedin lead to 6-4, and Dalton Pompey followed with his second double of the game to break the game open and put the Jays up 8-4.
With the lead in hand, relievers RHP Connor Eller and LHP Kirby Snead struck out four batters over the game's final two innings, holding the Miracle scoreless to lock down the the victory for Dunedin. Hartman was credited with the win out of the bullpen.
Offensively, Dunedin's eight runs and 12 hits were new season highs for the team. Pompey led the squad with three hits, two doubles, two RBIs, and a run scored, raising his batting average during his rehab assignment with Dunedin to .400. Jones, Adams, and Knight each had two hits apiece in the game, and Gudino knocked in a pair of runs out of the ninth spot in the batting order.
The win brings Dunedin's overall record to .500 on the season at 6-6 and drops Fort Myers a game below .500 at 6-7. The two teams will complete their three game series at Dunedin Stadium tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM. RHP Josh DeGraaf (1-1, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to take the ball for the Blue Jays with RHP Tyler Wells (1-0, 2.00 ERA) on the hill for the Miracle.