Dunedin takes third straight behind O’Halloran’s strong outing
TAMPA, FL – The Dunedin Blue Jays hit the road for the first time in 2024 on Tuesday night, and the result was a third consecutive victory – 6-2 over Tampa at George M Steinbrenner Field. Continuing an early-season trend, the scoring started early. It was the Blue Jays who
TAMPA, FL – The Dunedin Blue Jays hit the road for the first time in 2024 on Tuesday night, and the result was a third consecutive victory – 6-2 over Tampa at George M Steinbrenner Field.
Continuing an early-season trend, the scoring started early. It was the Blue Jays who struck first, using a sacrifice fly from Yhoangel Aponte that drove in Cade Doughty to make it 1-0 in the top of the first. The Tarpons responded in the bottom half, scoring two runs on two hits and two errors off Dunedin starter Connor O’Halloran to take a 2-1 lead.
After the first, O’Halloran silenced Tampa’s bats. The lefty didn’t allow a hit in his final four innings of work, while racking up seven strikeouts in his first outing of the season.
Dunedin’s offense backed up their starter and jumped back in front in the top of the fourth. Manuel Beltre singled to open the inning, and scored from first on Edward Duran’s double that tied the game at two. Duran eventually scored from third on a wild pitch, giving Dunedin a lead they never surrendered. The lead swelled to 4-2 thanks to an Aponte RBI double in the fifth.
O’Halloran exited the game following the fifth, giving way to JJ Sanchez, who worked around two hits to record a scoreless sixth.
The Jays added insurance in the eighth, as Aponte singled and scored on a Cristian Feliz RBI ground out, and Beltre singled and came around to score on a wild pitch, which made it 6-2.
After Carson Pierce worked fired scoreless seventh and eighth innings, Jerry Huntzinger pitched the ninth for Dunedin. The righty struck out the first batter he faced, but then allowed a single, double, and hit by pitch to load the bases with one out.
Huntzinger bucked down, striking out Yankees’ No. 3 prospect Roderick Arias and inducing an Enmanuel Tejeda ground out to end the game.
The series continues tomorrow evening at 6:30pm in Tampa, with Juaran Watts-Brown set to make his first professional start on the mound. Fans can listen to the Blue Jays’ radio broadcast online at https://www.milb.com/dunedin/fans/radio.