Fireworks On And Off The Field At Hometown USA Bash

The Dunedin Blue Jays put on a show in front of a near-capacity crowd at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Monday evening as part of the Blue Jays Hometown USA celebration. Before the fireworks were set off and the Greg Billings Band took the stage, the Blue Jays shut out the Daytona Tortugas in a 5-0 victory, largely thanks to the stellar pitching of RHP Jordan Romano, to give them their first series sweep of the season.
Romano was dominant from the first pitch, which clocked in at 97 miles per hour on the stadium's radar gun. He threw 7.0 scoreless innings for the Jays, allowing just three hits, and striking out seven. The Tortugas didn't have a batter reach second base off Romano until the seventh inning.
"Going into the game, [catcher Ryan] Hissey and I talked a lot about attacking the zone and making guys hit my pitches," Romano said after the game. Hissey left the game after just two batters after a foul tip caught his thumb. "[Catcher Michael] De La Cruz came in and did a great job calling. We stuck to the same plan, just attacking the hitters. I was throwing all three pitches for strikes and the boys were making all the plays behind me. It was a good game."
Romano, who normally has a formidable fastball, seemed to have a little extra behind his pitches during the game. At one point in the third inning, he delighted the home crowd with a 98 mile per hour fastball. 
"Of course!" Romano said when asked if the support of the large Independence Day crowd pumped him up on the mound. "Seeing all the fans definitely plays into your emotions a bit. There's a little more adrenaline. It's a good feeling pitching when there's a lot of fans in the stands.
Daytona starting pitcher Jesús Reyes was also strong, matching Romano zero-for-zero in the early-going. After four innings, the two teams had combined for just one hit.
Dunedin finally got to Reyes in the fifth. CF D.J. Davis reached on a fielder's choice with one out. The Blue Jays then got their first hit of the game by executing a perfect hit-and-run, with Davis breaking for second and 2B J.C. Cardenas slapping a single between short and third, putting runners at the corners. 3B Cavan Biggio drove in Davis with a sacrifice fly to break the 0-0 tie. Prized SS prospect Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stepped to the plate after Biggio and launched his first professional home run into the trees behind the left field fence to put Dunedin up 3-0. 
With the three-run lead, Romano kept cruising. His only hiccup was allowing the first two runners of the seventh inning to reach on a single and walk, but he promptly retired the next three batters to end the threat.
The Jays offense went back to work in the bottom of the seventh. D.J. Davis walked to lead off the inning and J.C. Cardenas picked up his second hit of the ballgame with a double to right, scoring Davis from first. A pair of wild pitches advanced Cardenas and brought him in to score to extend Dunedin's lead to 5-0.
RHP Jackson McClelland entered in relief in the eighth inning and went three-up, three-down in both the eighth and ninth innings, retiring the last six batters of the ballgame in order.
The win improves the Blue Jays' second half record to 6-5, moving them into third place in the Florida State League's North Division and 1.5 games out of first place. It also evens their overall season record at 40-40 on the year. The Jays will look to extend their four-game winning streak tomorrow in Lakeland against the Flying Tigers. The first pitch will be at 5:00 PM.