Blue Jays Claim Series Finale 8-5

FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 7, 2023) – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels dropped their fifth consecutive game Sunday after sloppy defense and timely Dunedin hitting led the Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory Sunday at Hammond Stadium.

The Mussels’ (13-14) pitching staff allowed eight runs, but only four were earned due to three errors committed by their defense. Peyton Williams led the way for Dunedin offensively (15-12), notching three hits with four runs batted in.

After Mussels’ starter *Tomas Cleto *(0-2, 3.77)retired the first two hitters he faced in the top of the first, Tucker Toman walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. The next Blue Jays hitter Williams launched a double off the base of the wall in right field to give Dunedin a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Robert Robertis singled and advanced to second on another wild pitch to place him in scoring position with two outs. Abiezel Ramirez followed with a single to center to make it 2-0.

With the same score in the top of the third, Toman and Williams drew back-to-back walks with one out. Glenn Santiago then checked in with a single to center that squirted underneath the glove of center fielder *Dylan Neuse *for an error. Toman scored from second to extend the Dunedin lead to three.

With a 3-0 advantage in the top of fifth, Manuel Beltre scorched a first pitch double to left and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Williams quickly took advantage, hitting a soft chopper through the drawn-in infield to give Dunedin a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the frame, *Rubel Cespedes *singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Two outs later, *Danny De Andrade *served a line-drive single to left that brought around Cespedes to make it a 4-1 game.

Still down by three in the bottom of the seventh, the Mussels loaded the bases with two outs after two walks and a single from Neuse. De Andradeand *Andrew Cossetti *drew consecutive free passes to force in two runs and cut the deficit to one.

In the top of the eighth, the Blue Jays answered back immediately as they pushed across four more runs on three hits and an error to make it 8-3.

In the following half inning, the Mussels loaded the bases after a *Ricardo Olivar *double and two more walks. With one out, *Alec Sayre *muscled a soft line drive into shallow center field for a single that scored two runs to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 8-5.

Blue Jays reliever Grayson Thurman set down the side in order in bottom of the ninth to secure the Blue Jays win and his second save of the year.

The Mussels remained close in each of their five defeats, losing by a combined seven runs in those games.

They will look to reset with a day off Monday before beginning a six-game series with the Tampa Tarpons Tuesday at Hammond Stadium. Coverage begins at 6:45 a.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.