Palm Beach Falls to Lakeland 7-4 on Saturday Night

JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (29-32) dropped their second game in a row to the Lakeland Flying Tigers (35-26) and fell by a final score of 7-4 on Saturday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach still needs to win every game as well as have St. Lucie lose every game through Thursday to earn the FSL East Division first half title. Lakeland wins the regular season series and holds onto first place in the FSL West Division.

The Flying Tigers struck for two runs in the top of the first inning on a two-run home run by Cristian Santana off Cardinals starting pitcher Nelfy Ynfante (L, 2-3), his second home run in as many nights to put Lakeland on top by a 2-0 score.

The Cardinals responded with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Bryce Madron and Deniel Ortiz singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Luis Pino then lifted a sacrifice fly to score Madron and trim the deficit to 2-1.

Lakeland added two more runs in the top of the second inning. A pair of walks put two men on base. Later with two outs, Woody Hadeen hit an RBI single to score Samuel Gil. Jackson Strong followed with another RBI single to right field, but a strong relay started by Pino threw Hadeen out at the plate to keep the Cardinals behind by three runs at 4-1.

Ynfante finished his fifth start of the season with 3 1/3 innings pitched and four runs allowed.

Yordy Herrera replaced Ynfante on the mound to close the top of the fourth inning and went back out on the mound for the top of the fifth inning. Santana led off with his second home run of the night which was a solo home run for his eighth of the season. Later in the frame, Lakeland had a runner on base for Ricardo Hurtado who hit a two-run home run to extend the Flying Tigers’ lead to 7-1.

After the first inning, Palm Beach had no answer for Lakeland starting pitcher Josh Randall (W, 3-4) who tossed a season-high six innings and allowed just one run.

Alan Reyes was called up from the FCL to make his Single-A and Palm Beach debut on the mound and he threw the final three innings and allowed no runs on just one hit and one walk.

The Cardinals made the bottom of the ninth inning interesting again like all series long. With one out, Ortiz hit his second single of the game and Pino reached on an error to put two runners on base. Cade McGee smacked a three-run home run to left field, his third of the season, to cut the deficit to 7-4. However, the comeback ended there and Palm Beach dropped their second game in a row.

For McGee, it was his first home run since hitting a walk-off home run against Fort Myers on April 6^th in the opening series.

The regular season series between the Palm Beach Cardinals and Lakeland Flying Tigers concludes on Sunday, June 15^th with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Palm Beach broadcast coverage begins at 12:20 p.m. on MiLB.TV, Bally Sports Live, and the Cardinals Audio Stream. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. Click here to purchase your tickets. New this season at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, all fans can enjoy a $10 special reserved box ticket during every Sunday game. Stop by the ticket office or go to RogerDeanChevroletStadium.com to take advantage of the Sunday ticket deal.

About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:

Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product.