Dunedin, Fort Myers Split Doubleheader, 8-4, 2-0

Dunedin, FL – After back-to-back days of rainouts, Thursday’s suspended game between the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and the Dunedin Blue Jays was finally finished on Friday as the first game of a doubleheader.

After Wednesday’s rainout, game two only made it to the top of the third before the rain came again with Fort Myers leading 2-1. Harry Rutkowski started the reset with a runner on first and one out. The first two Fort Myers hitters both singled, pushing across that third run before Rutkowski was able to induce an inning-ending double play. The Mighty Mussels would score again in the fourth off Rutkowski, giving themselves a 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Dunedin was able to get some offense going. Peyton Williams led off with a double to left-center field, and Roque Salinas brought him in with an RBI-single. A walk and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position, and Robert Robertis sacrificed himself on a fly ball to right, scoring Salinas from third to bring it within one before Fort Myers got out of the inning.

The teams would go back and forth in the sixth and seventh innings, with Rubel Cespedes hitting a solo home run in the sixth to make it 5-3, and Jaden Rudd driving in Abiezel Ramirez with an RBI-single to put the Blue Jays back with a run again. Fort Myers would immediately answer in the eighth with a run, and another two in the ninth gave them some insurance. And in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with two outs, but Mighty Mussels reliever Jarret Wharff held on, forcing a groundout to end it for the 8-4 Fort Myers victory.

About forty minutes later, the second game started with Kendry Rojas on the mound for the Blue Jays, and he did not disappoint. Rojas made his seventh appearance and fourth start of the year for Dunedin, throwing five shutout innings, just four hits allowed with no walks while striking out eight. With his performance Friday night, Rojas lowered his season ERA to 2.08. He just misses qualifying for Florida State League leaders by about three innings pitched, but among pitchers with over thirty total innings, Rojas has the lowest ERA of them all.

On the offensive side of the ball, the lineup did all they’d need to do in the very first inning. With Cory Lewis on the bump for Fort Myers, the Blue Jays started off in attack mode. Jaden Rudd led off, shooting the first pitch Lewis threw into the right-center field gap for a double, and Ryan McCarty followed his lead, crushing the very next pitch to right field for his first homer of the season, giving Dunedin an early 2-0 lead.

Rojas departed after his five outstanding innings of work, making way for Lazaro Estrada to make his eleventh appearance, looking for his fourth save in as many attempts. Estrada, much like Rojas, was up to the task. The 24-year-old righty was electric from the jump, striking out his first two batters en route to the six-out save, throwing two perfect innings with four total Ks to close out the 2-0 win.

With the split, the Blue Jays now sit at 22-20 on the year with a chance to even up the series Saturday night before another doubleheader on Sunday to wrap up the series. First pitch for game four is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be available live on the Dunedin Blue Jays Radio Network starting at 6:15 p.m.