Cruz Drives in Three in 5-3 Loss to Cardinals

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 24, 2024) – Rafael Cruz drove in three runs Wednesday night, but the Palm Beach Cardinals beat the Mussels 5-3 to even the series at Hammond Stadium.

With the Mussels trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Angel Del Rosario led off the frame with a base hit up the middle. The Cardinals retired the next two batters before Fort Myers (7-10) was able to put together a two-out rally. Gregory Duran and Jose Rodriguez both worked walks to load the bases for Cruz. He then hooked a line drive into the left field corner, clearing the bases and putting the Mussels ahead 3-2.

For the second night in a row, there was a pitchers’ dual throughout the early innings at Hammond Stadium as both teams were scoreless through four.

The Cardinals (11-6) opened the scoring in the fifth inning against Fort Myers starter Jeremy Lee. Lee had retired nine batters in a row before giving up a leadoff double to Chase Davis. Right fielder Brayden Jobert followed with a two-run home run to right-center. Lee’s outing ended abruptly as he exited later in the frame with an injury, finishing his night with six strikeouts over 4.1 innings of work.

The lead was short lived, as the Cardinals scored twice on three hits in the seventh to retake the lead 4-3. Palm Beach added an insurance run in the eight on a pair of doubles to extend their lead to two.

Seven of the 11 Palm Beach hits went for extra bases as the Cardinals connected on six doubles and a home run off Fort Myers’ pitching. The Mussels commanded the zone well, issuing just one walk on the night while striking out 11 batters. Fort Myers has walked a total of just two batters while striking out 21 Cardinals over the first two games of the series.

Ixan Henderson (1-1) earned the win for Palm Beach after racking up nine strikeouts over 3.1 innings of relief. Rehabbing reliever Mike Parades (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) over two innings of work.

Mussels’ catcher Matthew Clayton went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of singles, recording his first hits at the Low-A level.

The Mussels return to action on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Left-hander Cesar Lares (0-0, 3.12) takes the ball for Fort Myers, opposite Jason Savacool (1-0, 1.00) who toes the rubber for Palm Beach. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.