Hernandez tallies four hits, Jays rally past Bradenton

BRADENTON, FL – Alexis Hernandez had a career-night, going 4-5 with a homer and three RBIs, to help the Blue Jays past Bradenton 6-3 on Saturday night at LECOM Park.

For the second straight night, a Hernandez homer started the scoring in the second inning – this time, a solo shot that made it 1-0.

Bradenton responded in the bottom of the inning on a three-run rally against Jays’ starter Nolan Perry. Braylon Bishop tied the game on an RBI single that put men on the corners with one out.

Perry bounced back with a strikeout, but a chaotic play tied the game. Against Shalin Polanco, Perry induced a chopper to first baseman Cristian Feliz, who flipped to Perry covering the first base bag. He dropped it, allowing Polanco to reach safely. In the meantime, Wesley Zapata scored from third. Then, Bishop attempted to score, and Perry sailed the throw to the plate. Polanco then raced for second, forcing a throw into center field, but he was eventually thrown out at third base to end the inning.

Dunedin ran into more trouble in the third inning, as Perry allowed a walk and a single to open the frame. Juanmi Vasquez came on in relief and escaped the jam, striking out two batters to keep the score 3-1.

The Jays pulled even in the sixth inning. Feliz walked to start the inning, before Hernandez singled to put runners on first and second. The next batter, Nic Deschamps, appeared to roll into a double play ball to first baseman Esmerlyn Valdez, but his throw to second base flew into left field, allowing Feliz to score to make it 3-2. Then, a Daniel Perez sac fly drove in Hernandez to tie the game.

In the seventh inning, Dunedin pulled ahead with a game-deciding, three-run rally. First, Feliz ripped a go-ahead RBI single to make it 4-3. Then, Hernandez lined a gapper into left center field, driving in two runs to push the lead to 6-3.

On the other side of the scorebook, Irv Carter worked a 1-2-3 seventh and left two runners on in the eighth inning. JJ Sanchez came on for the save in the ninth, and worked around a walk to nail down the win.

With a win tomorrow, the Blue Jays would earn a series split with Bradenton. First pitch is set for 12:00 ET. Fans can listen to the hometown broadcast for free online at https://www.milb.com/dunedin/fans/radio.