'Tuga Bats Blow Open Tight Game, Crush Cardinals 12-2

DAYTONA BEACH—The Daytona Tortugas crushed three home runs and broke open a tight-game with a seven-run sixth innings to run away from the Palm Beach Cardinals 12-2 on Sunday evening at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (3-0, 32-36) set season highs for runs in an inning, runs in a game, and tied their season high in home runs, while Hector Rodriguez also recorded the first four-RBI game by a Tortuga this year. The Tortugas also took four of five from Palm Beach (0-3, 36-31) to cap off an 8-3 homestand.

Palm Beach threatened to strike first as they drew two walks in the first off Kenya Huggins and executed a double steal, placing runners at second and third with one out. However, Huggins struck out the next two men to end the threat.

In the bottom of the first, Daytona immediately struck to take the lead. Carlos Jorge lined Palm Beach starter Hancel Rincon’s first pitch for a single, then scored when Rodriguez roped a double into the gap in left-center to bring Jorge all the way home. After an infield hit, Cam Collier dropped a single into left to score Rodriguez, staking Daytona to a 2-0 lead.

Palm Beach did not threaten in either of the next two innings, but in the fourth, an error and a pair of walks loaded the bases with two outs against Kevin Abel. However, Abel struck out Joshua Baez looking to end the threat.

In the fifth, though, the Cardinals did break through against Abel. Lizandro Espinoza led off with a bloop hit to left, the first hit for Palm Beach. He alertly moved to second on a foulout, then scored on a two-out single from Won-Bin Cho to cut the Daytona lead to 2-1.

After the first, Rincon locked in, setting down the next 12 batters he faced. He allowed a one-out single in the fifth, but nothing more, finishing off 5.0 innings of two-run ball.

Joseph King then entered in the sixth and Daytona came up with a massive two-out rally to completely change the course of the game. An error brought home the first run before RBI singles from Logan Tanner and Michel Triana drove in two more runs. After a walk loaded the bases, Rodriguez lined a double into the left field corner that cleared the bases. Sal Stewart followed with an RBI, the seventh hit that brought in the seventh run of the sixth, putting Daytona ahead 9-1.

Daytona wasn’t done, either, as they broke out the longball in the next two innings. In the seventh, Johnny Ascanio and Tanner crushed back-to-back home runs, the first homers of the season for either player and the first longball of Ascanio’s professional career. An inning later, Jorge cleared the batter’s eye in center field with a 429-foot shot, his fifth of the season, to put an exclamation point on the victory.

On the pitching side, Abel (2-1) threw 4.0 innings of one-run ball to earn the victory. Zach Maxwell then came on and allowed a solo home run to Leonardo Bernal in the eighth, but otherwise successfully finished off the 12-2 romp.

The Tortugas will have Monday and Tuesday off before travelling to Tampa to begin a six-game series with the Tampa Tarpons. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense begins at 6:15 from George M. Steinbrenner Field.

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.