Burns Homers, But Rally Falls Short on Rain-Soaked Saturday Setback

FT. MYERS, Fla—Connor Burns blasted his third home run in four games and the Daytona Tortugas rallied in the ninth, but Daytona left the bases loaded as the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels held on for a 4-3 win on a rainy Saturday night at Hammond Stadium.

The two teams waited out a 4-hour, 27-minute delay before what was originally scheduled as a doubleheader before the decision was made to play just one contest. Ft. Myers (12-6, 43-40) earned their first win of the series, snapping Daytona’s (11-7, 42-42) five-game winning streak in the process.

The game finally commenced shortly after 8:30 p.m. and Ft. Myers struck first against Daytona starter Jose Montero. A leadoff walk began the frame before Byron Chourio and Brandon Winokur followed with singles up the middle. Winokur’s hit brought home the first run of the game as Ft. Myers took a 1-0 lead.

Daytona did little in the first two innings against Ft. Myers starter Charlee Soto. In the third, though, Yassel Pino led off with a single to extend his hitting streak to seven games. A hit batter with two outs put two on, but Daytona could not score. A single and walk with two outs in the fourth also went nowhere.

In the bottom of the fourth, Ft. Myers added to the lead against new pitcher Graham Osman. A single and walk began the inning before a fielder’s choice. After an infield hit loaded the bases, Osman picked up a strikeout. However, he plunked Byron Chourio with the bases loaded to force in a second run, putting the Mighty Mussels up 2-0.

Soto worked a 1-2-3 fifth to finish 5.0 scoreless innings, handing off the two-run lead to Tanner Hall in the sixth. However, Ariel Almonte ripped a double to center with one out. Two batters later, Burns crushed a long home run to center, tying the game on his third homer of the series and seventh of the season.

However, Ft. Myers immediately took the lead back. Three consecutive walks opened the inning before Walker Jenkins singled up the middle to bring a pair of runs. Nick Payero then entered for Daytona and pulled off an impressive escape act to leave runners at the corners. The Mighty Mussels were back in front, though, 4-2.

The score stayed 4-2 as Hall and Payero each traded zeroes through the seventh and eighth innings. In the ninth, though, Pino led off with his second hit, then Johnny Ascanio walked, chasing Hall for Xander Hamilton.

Hamilton began his outing with a strikeout, but then allowed an RBI single to Ricardo Cabrera that pulled Daytona within a run. A walk to Sammy Stafura followed, loading the bases with one out. Hamilton, though, stiffened up after that, striking out the final two batters of the game as Ft. Myers hung on to win 4-3.

Daytona will finish the series against the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels on Sunday afternoon in the final game before the All-Star break. The second game of tonight’s doubleheader was cancelled and so only one game will be played. First pitch from Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers is at 12:05 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense beginning at 11:55 a.m.