Fornataro, Rosario Lead Cardinals to Game One Win
Fornataro (5-6, 4.16 ERA) allowed three hits and one earned run in a seven-inning complete game, walking one and striking out three along the way. The right-hander gave up just one hit after the first inning to pick up his team-high fifth victory of the season, second in a row, after dropping four straight.
The Hammerheads did their only damage against Fornataro in the first inning, beginning with a leadoff double from Dallas Poulk and a wild pitch to put a runner at third with nobody out. Danny Pertusati followed with a RBI-single to put Jupiter on the board quickly, but three straight groundouts ended any potential threat and kept the score at 1-0 until the fifth.
Palm Beach managed just two baserunners through four innings before Edgar Lara kept the fifth inning alive by reaching on an error by Jeff Dominguez at shortstop. Robert Stock added a single to right and Packy Elkins walked before Adam Melker delivered the eventual game-winning hit, a two-run single to center that put the Cardinals on top 2-1.
Alan Ahmady walked to lead off the sixth and moved to third on a ground-rule double by Xavier Scruggs, who kept his on-base streak alive at 25 games on a two-strike pitch. Rosario then took a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left, his sixth homer of the season, to cap the ultimate 5-1 winning score.
Jose Alvarez (6-5, 2.96 ERA) suffered the loss for the Hammerheads by allowing two unearned runs through five innings. Ramon Benjamin gave up the three-run shot to Rosario in his one inning of work.
For more information on the Palm Beach Cardinals, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, please call (561) 775-1818 or visit www.palmbeachcardinals.com. For tickets and more information regarding Roger Dean Stadium, please visit www.rogerdeanstadium.com.