Feliz’s two-homer day blasts Dunedin to victory

Dunedin, FL – The force was strong in Cristian Feliz on Saturday night.

Dunedin’s first baseman belted two homers- including the go-ahead shot in the eighth- to propel the Blue Jays to a 6-5 win over Tampa at TD Ballpark.

Dunedin fell behind in the second, as Manuel Palencia poked an RBI single off Jays starter Nolan Perry, who was making his Single-A debut. Powell bounced back by stranding runners on first and second, and did the same in the third.

In the bottom of the third, the Jays tied it thanks to crafty baserunning. Jean Joseph opened the inning with a single, then stole second. With two outs, Yhoangel Aponte reached on a hit by pitch. Shortly after, Aponte dashed for second, drawing a throw that allowed Joseph to steal home.

Perry exited after recording the first out of the fourth. Keiner Leon took over to finish the inning, but ran into trouble in the fifth. Jackson Castillo led off the inning with a double, stole third, and then scored on an RBI groundout from Roderick Arias. Then, Dylan Jasso ripped a solo homer to left field to grow the Tarpons’ lead to 3-1.

The two runs marked Leon’s first runs allowed this season.

Joseph delivered again in the fifth, as the 19-year old hit a high-arching solo homer to left to cut the lead to 3-2. In an effort to rob the homer, Tampa left fielder Tayler Aguilar scaled the wall and knocked down a piece of the yellow foam at the top of the wall, which led to a brief delay as the grounds crew repaired the fence.

Tarpons starter Josh Grosz pitched into the sixth, and retired the first two batters of the frame on strikes to reach 12 strikeouts. The door opened with two outs, as Edward Duran reached on an error by the shortstop Arias. Feliz, 0-2 with two strikeouts at the time, got the best of Grosz on his third try, lining a two-run homer to right to put Dunedin ahead 4-3.

Jasso struck again in the seventh, blasting a two-run shot to put Tampa back in the drivers’ seat, 5-4.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the eighth. After Manuel Beltre opened the inning with a single, Feliz launched his second homer: a majestic, go-ahead shot to right that gave the Jays a 6-5 lead.

Yondrei Rojas closed the game with a three-up, three-down ninth to collect his second save of the week.

Dunedin will play for a series win on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for noon at TD Ballpark. Fans can buy their tickets now on DunedinBlueJays.com.