Daytona drops Stone Crabs 5-0

DAYTONA, Fla. (August 15, 2019) - The Charlotte Stone Crabs couldn't solve Ryan Lillie and the Daytona Tortugas pitching staff Thursday, getting shut out 5-0 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Lillie (3-7) struck out eight batters over six scoreless innings to earn Daytona (59-62, 24-32) a four-game split with Charlotte (74-48, 39-17).
The Stone Crabs managed just four singles and two walks in defeat, getting shut out for only the fourth time this year.
The Tortugas didn't waste much time getting the scoring going against Charlotte starter Drew Strotman (0-1). Alejo Lopez singled on the first pitch before stealing second. With two outs, Jose Garcia cranked a long two-run home run to left to give the Tortugas a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, Daytona strung together three straight singles to extend the lead to 3-0.
Still up by that margin in the sixth, Hendrik Clementina smashed an opposite field home run to make it 4-0.
Daytona added a run in the eighth on a Pablo Manzanero sacrifice fly to center to cap the night at 5-0.
The Stone Crabs will now return home for a three-game showdown with second place St. Lucie beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Leading the division by 3.5 games with 16 to play, Tommy Romero (10-4, 2.08) will get the nod against Joe Cavallaro (6-3, 3.74) in the series opener. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Stone Crabs Baseball Network.