Acosta Homers in 8-2 Loss Friday Night

DAYTONA BEACH—Victor Acosta homered, but the Daytona Tortugas were held to just four hits in an 8-2 loss to the St. Lucie Mets Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

St. Lucie (11-23, 35-64) evened the series with the victory, as Daytona (13-19, 42-55) was 0-for-9 in the loss and was hobbled by eight walks and a pair of longballs served up by the pitching staff.

The game began over an hour late due to rain, but once things began, St. Lucie came out swinging. After a leadoff single against Mason Pelio, Carlos Dominguez lined a two-run homer to left-center to give St. Lucie a quick 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the first, though, Daytona answered right back. On the second pitch from St. Lucie starter Landon Marceaux, Acosta crushed his second home run of the season, a 397-foot shot that trimmed the deficit to 2-1.

After that, both starters settled down. Pelio finished the first with three straight strikeouts and struck out a fourth straight to open the second. He then erased a leadoff walk in the third with a double play ball.

Marceaux, meanwhile, walked a pair of batters in the second, but induced a groundout with runners on the corners to end the inning before tossing a 1-2-3 third.

In the fourth, St. Lucie struck once more against Pelio. Wilfredo Lara led off with a single before Pelio retired the next two men. However, Yeral Martinez tagged an 0-1 pitch down the right field line and snuck it inside the right-field foul pole for a two-run homer, extending the Mets lead to 4-1.

Daytona answered back again with a single tally in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff walk to Logan Tanner chased Marceaux for Ramon Henriquez, who allowed a fielder’s choice, but an errant throw put runners on the corners with no outs. After a strikeout, Ariel Almonte lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Tanner to make it 4-2.

In the fifth, Daytona mounted a golden opportunity to draw even closer. Acosta led off the inning with a double to left which was followed by a walk. On a 3-1 pitch, though, Henriquez induced a double play that effectively extinguished the rally, which officially ended with a strikeout immediately thereafter.

After a scoreless sixth, St. Lucie put the game away in the seventh, scoring four runs on three walks, and a hit batter. The first run scored on a bases-loaded walk, before Yeral Martinez lined a two-run single to left. A throwing error on the tail end of the play scored a third run, making it 8-2 St. Lucie.

Daytona loaded the bases on a hit batter, a double, and a walk, but a strikeout and fielder’s choice ended the threat.

Brody Jessee threw 2.2 scoreless innings for the Tortugas, striking out a career-high six batters. However, the Tortugas failed to muster a rally in the final two frames and fell 8-2.

The Tortugas will play game five against the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday night. RHP Johnathan Harmon (3-5, 4.60) gets the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie RHP Saul Garcia (3-7, 5.08). Tomorrow will be Augtoberfest with German-inspired food and drink specials. Plus, it’s the third of our five fan-picked bobbleheads with the first 1,000 fans receiving an Edwin Arroyo bobblehead. First pitch from Jackie Robinson Ballpark will be at 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage with the voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, beginning at 6:20 p.m. on the Tortugas Radio Network.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.