Jorge's Homer, Pelio's Gem Not Quite Enough in 3-2 Defeat

DAYTONA BEACH—Carlos Jorge homered and Mason Pelio turned in 5.0 strong innings on the mound, but the Daytona Tortugas were clipped 3-2 by the St. Lucie Mets in the series opener on Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

St. Lucie (8-20) earned their first victory against Daytona (9-19) this season as the Tortugas stranded ten runners on base, including seven in the final four frames, in the process taking their fourth straight defeat.

After a 1-2-3 first inning from Pelio, Daytona struck against St. Lucie hurler Jawilme Ramirez. Hector Rodriguez hit a slow chopper to first, but the throw to Ramirez covering was wide and rolled out of play, putting Rodriguez on second, two groundouts brought him around, with Sal Stewart’s roller to short bringing in Rodriguez with the game’s first run.

In the second, though, St. Lucie answered. With one out, Vincent Perozo doubled to left center. Pelio struck out the following hitter, but Yeral Martinez followed by lining a 3-0 pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run.

Pelio settled down after that, allowing a pair of walks to begin the third, but a caught stealing helped to end that threat. He then worked around leadoff runners in the fourth and fifth to finish both of those frames with no runs allowed.

Pelio (1-2) worked 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts, setting a career high in innings and tying his career-high in punchouts in a hard-luck loss.

Jared Lyons entered the game in the sixth and was immediately greeted by a solo home run by Jacob Reimer on his first pitch. Two singles quickly followed, but he settled down and retired the next three hitters to limit the damage to just the one tally.

In the bottom of the frame, Daytona got the run back as Jorge jumped on a 1-0 pitch and ripped it 391 feet down the right-field line for his third home of the season, bringing Daytona back within a run. The Tortugas weren’t done, as a single and walk chased Ramirez (1-1) with one out. Cristopher Vasquez came on and walked Yassel Pino with two outs to load the bases, but Cade Hunter grounded out with the bases loaded to end the inning with St. Lucie still in front, 3-2.

Lyons allowed a hit in each of the final three innings, but was able to leave runners in scoring position each time and hold the Mets off the board.

Meanwhile, Daytona put two on in the seventh and one more in the eighth, but failed to score. Victor Acosta led off the ninth with a double, but Sanchez retired the next three batters to nail down an 11-out save to secure a 3-2 win for St. Lucie.

The Tortugas will play game two against St. Lucie on Wednesday night. It will be Belly Buster Wednesday with all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, and Marcos Pizza, plus a 50-50 raffle for Wishful Wedndesday. First pitch is at 6:35 with gates opening at 5:30. RHP Ryan Cardona (0-0, 2.35) will get the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie LHP Felipe De La Cruz (1-1, 3.42). Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network and Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 6:20 from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.

ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS

The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.