Palm Beach Clinches Series on Friday Night
The Palm Beach Cardinals surrendered the first run on Friday night but would grab the lead in the fifth inning and hold it for the remainder of the night, as they defeated the Daytona Tortugas 3-2 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. With the win, the Beach Birds clinch the six-game
The Palm Beach Cardinals surrendered the first run on Friday night but would grab the lead in the fifth inning and hold it for the remainder of the night, as they defeated the Daytona Tortugas 3-2 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
With the win, the Beach Birds clinch the six-game series by being 4-0 across the week to date against their foes from Volusia County.
Hancel Rincon collected his third Single-A win in as many outings, starting the contest and allowing just one run across six innings. The 20-year-old Dominican righty struck out just one batter but walked only one as well over the quality start. Rincon also improved his ERA to 5.00 on the night.
Daytona drew initial blood in the third inning but the Cardinals tied the game an inning later on an RBI groundout from Chris Rotondo. Joshua Baez gave Palm Beach the lead in the fifth with a single to score Alex Iadisernia, and Thomas Francisco's bases-loaded walk later in the frame made it 3-1.
Daytona closed to gap to 3-2 in the sixth inning and had the bases loaded in the seventh, but the Cardinals' Gustavo Rodriguez wiggled out of a full count with two outs to preserve the lead.
Alfredo Ruiz followed Rodriguez's scoreless seventh with a shutout eighth, and Andrew Marrero earned his 10th save of the season, which is a Florida State League-high.
Palm Beach has won seven straight games and 10 of their last 11, with its playoff magic number down to five with eight games remaining in the regular season. They are back for a jam-packed Saturday night, their last regular season home game in 2022. It's Hometown Heroes Night, with active duty military, veterans, and first responders gaining free admission.
Also, join our very own Robbie the Redbird and his mascot friends for Mascot Mayhem! We'll have an extremely special guest as well, as MLB Hall of Famer, 14-time All-Star, and World Series Champion catcher Johnny Bench will throw the first pitch! Click here to buy tickets for this extremely exciting night!
Click here for Friday's final box score.