Dunedin downs St. Lucie in series-opening slugfest

DUNEDIN, FL – The Blue Jays scored nine runs on nine hits, four walks and four hit by pitches to take a series-opening victory from St. Luice, 9-6 on Tuesday night at TD Ballpark.

The victory is Dunedin’s third straight, pulling the team’s record back to .500 at 23-23.

The Blue Jays opened an early 4-0 lead, scoring on a Tucker Toman RBI double in the first inning. After Alexis Hernandez dashed home from third on a stolen base and an error in the second, Manuel Beltre lifted a two-run homer.

St. Lucie responded in the top of the third inning with not one, but two homers off starter Jorge Bautista; solo shots from Estarling Mercado and Jesus Baez.

Dunedin’s lead jumped back to 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, as two runs scored on a throwing error induced by a fielders’ choice off the bat of Beltre.

Again, St. Lucie got the runs back with a two-spot in the top of the fifth inning, scoring on Kellum Clark’s RBI triple and a sacrifice fly from Marco Vargas.

The big blow in the game came in the bottom of the fifth, as Dunedin tallied a three spot. Alexis Hernandez drove in a run on an RBI single. Later, Jean Joseph collected a painful RBI with a bases-loaded hit by pitch, then Victor Arias beat out a ground ball between first base and the pitcher for an infield RBI single to make it 9-4.

The Mets continued to battle, notching four consecutive two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 9-6. The comeback stopped there, as JJ Sanchez recorded the final seven outs of the game, including back-to-back 1-2-3 frames to earn the save.

The series with St. Lucie continues tomorrow night at 6:30 ET, with Juaron Watts-Brown set to start on the mound for the Jays.