Cabrera, Vargas help Tarpons sneak past Tortugas

TAMPA, Fla. – Better late than never.

The Tampa Tarpons (11-5) narrowly edged the Daytona Tortugas (6-11) at George M. Steinbrenner Field, 2-1. Following a rain delay that lasted two and a half hours, Tampa’s pitching carried them to victory in seven innings.

RHP Tyrone Yulie (3-2) made his 14th start of the season Wednesday afternoon and set the tone for the Tarpons early on. The young right-hander was strong through 5.2 scoreless innings of work, striking out five batters while allowing six total hits.

Some run production finally came in the bottom of the third, beginning with a lead-off single by RF Grant Richardson. DH Alexander Vargas stepped up to the plate a couple batters later and ripped an RBI single to the gap in left center. Jack Rogers misplayed the ball on a hop which allowed Richardson to make the turn and score all the way from first base.

The Tarpons struck again in the bottom of the fifth. 3B Marcos Cabrera blasted his team-leading 12th homer of the year which cleared the left field fence to put Tampa ahead, 2-0. It appeared as if LF Kyle Battle doubled that margin with a two-run homer off the right field foul pole, but home plate umpire Christian Argueza waved it off.

RHP Harold Cortijo entered the game in the bottom of the sixth to record the final out in relief of Yulie. Hayden Jones had other plans, greeting Cortijo with a no-doubt solo home run with two outs to cut Tampa’s lead down to one.

Cortijo settled in to finish the sixth and eventually shut down Daytona in the seventh.

The Tampa Tarpons will look to rebound tomorrow night as they host the Daytona Tortugas for game three of their six game set. Yon Castro (2-4, 3.44 ERA) draws the start for Tampa, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 PM EST.