Tortugas Strikeout In Jupiter

Jupiter, FL - The Daytona Tortugas left the tying run at third base in the ninth inning of their 1-0 loss to the Palm Beach Cardinals Thursday night at Roger Dean Stadium. The Tortuga offense sputtered once again, leaving 10 men on base, as they were swept for the firs time this season.

RHP Keury Mella (0-2) rebounded from his first start, but was made the tough luck loser Thursday. The hard-throwing righty lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run on eight hits, while striking out four. The lone blemish was a Danny Diekroeger RBI single in the opening inning. 

Daytona attempted a comeback in the ninth, when Blake Butler led off the inning with one of his three singles. After a wild pitch pushed Butler to second, Chadwick Tromp moved him to third with a successful sacrifice bunt. Jeff Gelalich entered as a pinch-hitter and struck out, and Blake Trahan followed with a groundout to second to end the game. 

RHP Evan Mitchell strung together 2 1/3 innings of relief to continue his strong beginning to the 2016 season. LHP Austin Gomber (1-1) earned his first win with Palm Beach, while Silfredo Garcia picked up his second save of the campaign.

In the series, the Tortugas hit .209 (27-for-129) overall, and just .139 (5-for-36) with runners in scoring position, mustering six runs in the four games. 

Outliers to the offensive struggles were Angelo Gumbs and Butler, who both had a nice series at the plate. Gumbs went 8-for-13 with multiple hits in three of the four games, while Butler went 5-for-15 at the plate. 

On the mound, the Tortugas tossed 32 innings while allowing 14 runs, yielding a solid 2.28 ERA. 

The Tortugas head back to Jackie Robinson Ballpark to welcome the Fort Myers Miracle for a four-game series starting Friday. Daytona will be celebrating Jackie Robinson Day in conjunction with the MLB. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Jackie Robinson T-Shirt, courtesy of Halifax Health Orthopedics. RHP Wyatt Strahan (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will try to get Daytona off their skid, while Fort Myers calls upon LHP Tyler Jay (1-0, 1.80). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M. and the Chili's pre-game show begins at 6:50 P.M.  
 

Notes: With the three multi-hit games this series, Gumbs paces the Tortugas with four multi-hit efforts at the plate this season…Mella's 5 2/3 innings of work tied Tyler Mahle from the night before for the longest outing by a Tortuga starter this season…Daytona's starting rotation is still winless on the year…This series was just the second four-game sweep handed to Daytona under manager Eli Marrero.