Rodriguez homers, Cards defeat D-Jays 4-3

JUPITER, FL- Jonathan Rodriguez led the offensive charge for Palm Beach as they defeated Dunedin 4-3 in a pivotal game for the Blue Jays. After tonight, Dunedin drops their lead of the FSL North division to a mere half game over the Daytona Cubs with only three games left in the first half.

Palm Beach set the tone early, feeding off of a solo shot from Jonathan Rodriguez (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2R) in the bottom of the 2nd that smashed into the left field foul pole for his third homer of the year. The Cards collected another run in the third thanks to a sharp single up the middle off the bat of Alex Mejia (1-4, RBI).

Despite their inability to take the lead, Dunedin kept the game close. Trailing 2-4 heading into the 8th, the Blue Jays were able to take advantage of a throwing error and a passed ball, putting their leadoff hitter Jon Berti (0-3, R) on third with no outs. Third baseman Andy Burns (0-4, RBI) got the job done as he grounded out to second, scoring Berti from third and bringing his team within one.

However, Cards' reliever Zach Petrick was able to buckle down and slam the door shut on the Blue Jays. Petrick earned his first save of the season while starting pitcher Kurt Heyer notched his first win, tossing 5.1 innings while giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 2.

The two teams will play the second game of a four game series tomorrow, 6:35 p.m. at Roger Dean Stadium. Left-hander Kyle Hald (1-5, 4.94 ERA) is set to throw for the Cardinals while the Blue Jays have right-hander Casey Lawrence (3-5, 3.76 ERA) slated for the start.

For more information on the Palm Beach Cardinals please visit www.palmbeachcardinals.com or call 561-799-1391.

WP: Heyer (1-1) LP: Hernandez (4-5) S: Petrick (1)