Watson Wins Debut as Tortugas Split Doubleheader in St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Aaron Watson earned the victory in his Single-A debut as the Daytona Tortugas opened Wednesday's doubleheader with an 8-4 victory over the St. Lucie Mets before St. Lucie rallied for an 11-10 walk-off win in 10 innings in the nightcap at Clover Park.

The split moved Daytona to 44-58 overall and 23-13 in the second half. The loss in Game 2 snapped the Tortugas' season-high seven-game winning streak, leaving Daytona one victory shy of tying the franchise record.

The Rundown

Watson's first appearance at the Single-A level got off to a perfect start as the Tortugas scored twice before he ever took the mound. Steele Hall drew a leadoff walk and Arnaldo Lantigua followed with a single into left-center. A pair of St. Lucie throwing errors on the same play allowed both runners to score, giving Daytona a 2-0 lead after just three batters.

The Mets answered with a run on a wild pitch in the second, but Watson settled in and worked around trouble throughout the afternoon. After escaping a bases-loaded threat in the third, the Reds' No. 5 prospect received plenty of support in the fourth. Adolfo Sanchez led off the inning with his second Single-A home run before Bernard Moon singled and Rafhlmil Torres dropped down a bunt single. Ichiro Cano reached on a throwing error that brought home both runners before Drew Davies lined an RBI double down the right-field line to stretch the lead to 6-1.

St. Lucie scored once in the bottom half, but Watson stranded another pair of runners to finish his outing, tying his career high with 5.0 innings pitched while allowing two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Daytona added another run in the sixth as Torres doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch before Lantigua capped the opener with a solo homer in the seventh. Luis Pimentel closed out the final two innings as the Tortugas secured an 8-4 victory and extended their winning streak to seven games.

Game Two

The nightcap turned into one of Daytona's wildest games of the season.

St. Lucie jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two innings against Iker Redona, who made his Single-A debut, but the Tortugas completely flipped the momentum in the fourth despite not recording a hit. Bernard Moon and Ichiro Cano walked before Rafhlmil Torres reached on a throwing error that scored the first run. After another walk loaded the bases, Ian Francis forced in a run with an RBI walk before Jalen Hairston tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

Daytona grabbed its first lead in the fifth when Moon walked, Torres singled and Francis delivered a two-out RBI single. Meanwhile, Braden Osbolt dominated out of the bullpen, retiring hitters with a heavy dose of first-pitch strikes and keeping the Mets scoreless through the sixth.

The Tortugas added to the lead in the seventh as Cano and Torres singled before Dylan King lined a two-out, two-run single to make it 6-3. St. Lucie answered immediately, however, tying the game with a three-run seventh highlighted by Vladi Gomez's bases-clearing double.

Daytona refused to go away. Drew Davies drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to reclaim the lead, but the Mets tied it on a wild pitch in the bottom half. In the ninth, King crushed a two-run homer to put Daytona back in front, 9-7, only for Julio Zayas to tie the game with a two-run homer of his own to begin the home half of the inning .

The drama continued into the 10th. Torres delivered an RBI single to score automatic runner Adolfo Sanchez, giving Daytona a 10-9 advantage and putting the Mets down to their final three outs once again. But after a bunt single and an intentional walk loaded the pressure on the Daytona bullpen, John Smith III lined a two-run walk-off single to right, completing the Mets' comeback and ending the Tortugas' seven-game winning streak.

Stat of the Game

7 — Daytona's season-high seven-game winning streak ended one victory shy of tying the franchise record.

Notes

• Daytona split the doubleheader to move to 44-58 overall and 23-13 in the second half.

• The Tortugas are 3-1 in August.

• Daytona is 7-12 on Wednesdays.

• The Tortugas are 10-17 in day games.

• Daytona is 34-41 in night games.

• St. Lucie leads the season series 9-4.

• Daytona is 14-35 on the road.

• The Tortugas are 30-46 against right-handed starters.

• Daytona is 34-6 when leading after six innings.

• The Tortugas are 14-13 in one-run games.

• Daytona is 3-3 in extra-inning games.

• The Tortugas are 7-5 when tied after seven innings.

• The Tortugas are 9-5 when tied after eight innings.

• Daytona is 3-5 in doubleheaders.

• The Tortugas are 3-6 in seven-inning games.

• Daytona is 15-24 when opponents collect 10 or more hits.

• The Tortugas are 29-21 when scoring first.

• Daytona is 30-19 when hitting a home run.

• The Tortugas are 18-10 when homering with runners on base.

• The Tortugas are 37-15 when scoring five or more runs.

• Daytona is 8-47 when outhit by its opponent.

• Watson, Cincinnati's No. 5 prospect, earned the victory in his Single-A debut while tying his career high with 5.0 innings pitched for the third time and first since May 25 against the ACL Rangers.

• Osbolt allowed two runs (one earned) over 5.0 innings with six strikeouts while throwing first-pitch strikes to 23 of the 24 batters he faced.

• Torres recorded multiple hits in both games.

• Torres collected his 21st and 22nd multi-hit games of the season.

• Torres recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season and 18th two-hit game of the season.

• Lantigua recorded his 14th multi-hit game of the season and 11th two-hit game of the season.

• King recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season and fifth two-hit game of the season.

• King recorded his second multi-RBI game of the season.

• King drove in a career-high four RBI, surpassing his previous best of two set April 12 at Lakeland.

• Francis recorded his first multi-RBI game of the season.

• Torres extended his hitting streak to nine games.

• Cano extended his on-base streak to nine games.

• Hall extended his on-base streak to five games.

• King extended his on-base streak to 10 games.

• Moon extended his on-base streak to nine games.

Up Next

The Tortugas continue their six-game series against the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday, August 6 at Clover Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.