Dunedin takes fifth straight win in seesaw battle with Jupiter

DUNEDIN, FL – The Blue Jays had the last laugh in a back-and-forth battle with Jupiter on Sunday, using a Manuel Beltre go-ahead RBI single in the seventh to take a 6-5 victory at TD Ballpark. The win is the fifth straight for Dunedin, improving the team’s record to 19-20.

The Blue Jays took the lead out of the gate, as Jean Joseph belted a leadoff homer to make it 1-0 in the first inning.

Dunedin starter Gage Stanifer retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, racking up six strikeouts. With two outs in the fourth, Jupiter scratched across a run with two walks and an RBI single from John Cruz to tie the game at one.

With Stanifer out of the game, the Hammerheads took the lead in the fifth, as Yeral Martinez blasted a solo homer to right against Sebastian Espino to make it 2-1.

Dunedin quickly tied the game in the bottom half, as Joseph collected another RBI on a single to right field.

Jupiter snagged a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a two-out RBI knock from JT Mabry. In the bottom half, Dunedin took the lead back by scoring twice – once on a Nic Deschamps single, and then on a go-ahead sac fly from Marcos De La Rosa.

The Hammerheads responded to the Jays’ two-spot with their own in the top of the seventh inning. Jupiter tied the game at four as Ryan Ignoffo hopped a ball past third baseman Ricardo Balogh for an error. Then, Brock Vradenburg picked up an RBI on a fielders’ choice to put the Hammerheads back in front, 5-4.

A two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh from the Jays proved to be the difference.

With one out, Joseph doubled for his third hit of game. Tucker Toman followed with an RBI single to re-tie the game at five. After a pitching change, Beltre sent a floating line drive into center field, scoring Toman to put Dunedin ahead for good, 6-5.

Blue Jays pitchers retired the final six batters of the game, as Juanmi Vasquez worked a 1-2-3 eighth and Aaron Munson finished the game with two strikeouts in the ninth for the save.

After a five-games-to-one series victory over the Hammerheads this week, the D-Jays embark on a six-game road trip to Bradenton next week. The series opens on Tuesday night at 6:30. Fans can listen to the action for free on DunedinBlueJays.com.