Big Nights at the Plate Leads Tortugas to 9-3 Victory

DAYTONA BEACH—Arij Fransen twirled 4.2 scoreless innings and Carlos Jorge and Victor Acosta led a 14-hit attack with three hits apiece as the Daytona Tortugas defeat the St. Lucie Mets 9-3 on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (11-19) has now won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a month, thanks in large part to a season high in hits (coming from all nine starters) as St. Lucie (8-22) pitching allowed 23 baserunners in the contest.

In the bottom of the first, Daytona struck first against St. Lucie starter Javier Atencio. Cam Collier was plunked on the first pitch of the inning, then replaced by Jorge at first on a fielder’s choice. On a pitch to Sal Stewart, Jorge took off for second, which Stewart rolled to short. However, the throw was low and skipped away, moving Jorge to third. Logan Tanner followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Jorge, putting the Tortugas up 1-0.

An inning later, Daytona had an opportunity to add to the lead. Ariel Almonte lined a two-out double before being waved home on a Collier single up the middle. However, Wilfedo Lara in center fired a perfect strike to the plate to cut down Almonte and end the inning.

In the third, though, the Tortugas put together a big inning. Jorge kicked off the frame by pulling a leadoff triple into the right field corner. After a strikeout, Tanner rolled a ground ball to short in a drawn-in infield. Jorge came home and slid around the tag to score.

After a groundout, Hector Rodriguez lined a single to right to bring in Tanner. Following an infield single, a passed ball brought Rodriguez across the plate to put Daytona ahead 4-0.

Fransen, meanwhile, worked around a single baserunner in each of his first three innings, before leaving runners at the corners in the fourth. In the fifth, he retired the first two batters, but then plunked two straight Mets. He was lifted for Easton Sikorski, finishing the night one out shy of qualifying for the win.

Fransen went 4.2 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, one walk, and the two hit batters with three strikeouts.

After Sikorski got the final out of the fifth, Daytona tacked on a run in the fifth. A leadoff walk and single put two on for Acosta, who blooped a double over a drawn-in infield to bring home Tanner.

Two more came home in the sixth. Jorge singled and swiped his third base of the night, went to third on a single from Tanner, then came home on a wild pitch. Tanner himself came home when Rodriguez legged out an infield single, pushing the lead to 7-0.

Sikorski (2-1) went four-up, four-down, firing a perfect sixth before giving way to Bryce Hubbart in the seventh. The southpaw worked a scoreless seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth.

A double, walk, and hit batter loaded the bases with no outs for Eduardo Salazar, who grounded a two-run double down the left-field line. A groundout two batters later brought home another run before Hubbart finished the inning with the score now 7-3.

Daytona, though, added two more for the finishing touches. A two-out rally saw Acosta line his third hit of the night before Malvin Valdez singled him home two batters later. After a walk loaded the bases, Jorge collected his third hit, a checked-swing roller to second to bring home the final tally of the night.

Hubbart settled down in the ninth, working around a one-out error to nail down a nine-out save and with it, a 9-3 victory.

The Tortugas will play game four against St. Lucie on Friday night. The Tortugas will have wear specialty Marvel-themed Defenders of the Diamond jerseys tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:35 with gates opening at 5:30. RHP Kevin Abel (0-1, 9.45) will get the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie RHP Benito Garcia (1-2, 3.86). Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network and Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 6:20 from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.