Threshers take control after delay, top 'Tugas, 9-4

Daytona held 3-0 lead before a 90-minute delay in the second; Clearwater takes opener

2B Brandon Leyton clubbed a three-run home run — his first of the year — but Clearwater scored nine straight runs from that point on, as the Threshers defeated the Daytona Tortugas, 9-4, on Tuesday night at BayCare Ballpark. (Aldrin Capulong)

By Justin Rocke

June 23, 2021

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Thanks to a three-run 2B Brandon Leyton home run, Daytona held a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half. However, after a one-hour and 30-minute rain delay after the top of the second, Clearwater exploded for four in the second and three in the third, as

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Thanks to a three-run 2B Brandon Leyton home run, Daytona held a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half. However, after a one-hour and 30-minute rain delay after the top of the second, Clearwater exploded for four in the second and three in the third, as the Threshers bested the Tortugas, 9-4, on Tuesday night at BayCare Ballpark.

With menacing clouds hovering in left, Daytona (18-25) received a spark in the top of the second with a DH Garrett Wolforth (1-4, R, 2B, 3 SO) leadoff double. C Daniel Vellojín (2-3, R, 2B, BB) would walk before RHP Eduar Segovia (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) recorded a pair of outs. Leyton (1-4, R, HR, 3 RBI) would not let him escape as he lasered a 1-2 offering onto the berm in right for a three-run shot — his first of the season.

Before the bottom of the second inning could begin, the contest was halted for 90 minutes due to a driving rainstorm. With starter RHP James Proctor (1.0 IP, SO) removed due to the delay, Clearwater (22-21) pounced. Despite a strikeout to start the inning, 1B Rixon Wingrove (2-4, 3 R, 2B, BB) doubled while 2B Luis García (3-4, R) and C Abrahan Gutiérrez (2-3, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB) each singled to put the Threshers on the board, 3-1.

3B Nicolas Torres (2-3, R, HR, 5 RBI, BB) subsequently rifled a 3-2 offering into the seats beyond the left-field wall for his first home run of the season, giving Clearwater the lead, 4-3.

It was the long ball that burned Daytona again in the third. SS Kendall Simmons (1-5, R, 2B, SO) ignited the frame with a double, and LF Baron Radcliff (0-3, R, 2 BB, 2 SO) followed with a walk. After a pair of flyouts, Gutiérrez deposited the eighth pitch of an at-bat on the left-center field berm for a three-run blast. His second of the year extended the Threshers advantage to four, 7-3.

Torres helped push Clearwater’s advantage to as much as six, 9-3, and his RBI total to five with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and a tally-producing single through the right side in the seventh.

Daytona nudged across one last run in the eighth as RF Austin Hendrick (1-3, R, 2B, BB, 2 SO) and 1B Michel Triana (1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 SO) replaced one another with consecutive doubles.

LHP Gabriel Yanez (2.2 IP, BB, 4 SO) took the hill when the game resumed and twirled 2.2 innings of hitless ball to earn his first win of the season. RHP Victor Vargas (4.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 4 SO) — who is scheduled to start on Sunday — finished the final four frames to earn his second save of the year.

RHP Frainger Aranguren (0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 SO) was unable to escape the second inning and suffered his third defeat.

After throwing 1.1 scoreless out of the bullpen on Sunday, RHP Miguel Medrano (0-0, 0.00) will make his first start with Daytona in game two of the series on Tuesday afternoon. Clearwater is expected to counter with LHP Rafael Marcano (1-1, 1.86). Coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network will begin on the MiLB First Pitch app and www.daytonatortugas.com at 11:45 a.m. The first pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m.

Daytona will return home to open up their Independence Day Homestand on Tuesday, June 29, against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Low-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. It will be a Breast Cancer Awareness Night presented by Radiology Associates Imaging, as Daytona players and coaches will don special pink-tinted uniforms to mark the occasion. Silver Sluggers Night — the best club in baseball for fans 60-and-over — presented by Conviva Cares Solutions will also be a part of the festivities. Fans can get in on deals at the concession stand with $2.50 Michelob Ultra draft beers.

Season tickets, multi-game plans, group packages, and single-game tickets are currently available and can be purchased online at www.daytonatortugas.com or by calling the Tortugas’ Ticket Office at (386) 257-3172.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS
The Daytona Tortugas are the Low-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Low-A Southeast. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach. 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.