Villegas, Pentecost Lead Jays To Fifth Straight Win

Blue Jays righty Kender Villegas last threw six full innings in a game in 2012 as a member of the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in the St. Louis organization. 
Four years and two organizations later, Villegas turned in his finest career outing in his first start for the Dunedin Blue Jays this season. Villegas worked 6.0 innings, allowed just three hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out a pair, picking up the win in the Blue Jays 3-0 shutout victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Sunday evening. 
Villegas carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and needed just 64 pitches to get through six innings, besting his season long of 4.0 innings set during a 13 game stint with AA-New Hampshire.
"His fastball command was really on. We were able to really get ahead," Catcher Max Pentecost said after the game about his battery mate. "He didn't really miss over the plate. The first time through, we worked them in, got ahead of them and were able to get some ground balls and weak fly balls. The next time through, we used a little more off-speed to keep them off-balance."
Pentecost had a fine day behind the plate but was just as impressive at it, finishing 3-3 with three doubles and a walk. Pentecost opened the scoring for the Blue Jays in the bottom of the third by following singles by CF Darrell Ceciliani and 3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with an RBI double off the wall in left-centerfield. 1B Juan Kelly drove in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to put the Jays up 2-0.
The Blue Jays added an insurance run in seventh inning on an RBI double by SS Bo Bichette that brought D.J. Davis in to score from first after he had reached on a two-out walk.
With the lead in hand, the Dunedin bullpen made short work of the game's last three innings. LHP Dan Lietz threw two shutout innings to earn his second hold of the year and RHP Zach Jackson locked down his third save with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
The win improves Dunedin's record to 17-13 in the second half, moving them past Lakeland for sole possession of second place in the Florida State League's North Division. The win is Dunedin's fifth straight and improves their home record at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium to 12-2 in the second half, the best in the FSL.
The two teams will play the finale of their four game set tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM with Dunedin aiming for the series sweep. RHP Jordan Romano (5-5, 3.13 ERA) will take the ball for Dunedin with RHP Spencer Turnbull (4-3, 3.98 ERA) scheduled to throw for the Flying Tigers.