McElvain K's Nine, But Tortugas Edged in One-Run Loss

LAKELAND—Chris McElvain struck out nine batters and Kenya Huggins followed him with four scoreless frames, but three unearned runs undid the excellent pitching as the Daytona Tortugas fell to the Lakeland Flying Tigers 3-2 on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Lakeland (18-24) earned their second win as they held Daytona (17-25) hitless over the final six innings on a tension-filled night that saw two Tortugas ejected.

The right-hander McElvain began the night torridly, striking out the side in the top of the first. After a scoreless second, Daytona struck first in the bottom of the second against Lakeland starter Garrett Apker.

With one out, Yassel Pino walked, then motored all the way around as Johnny Ascanio looped a double down the right field line to bring home Pino for the game’s first run.

In the third, though, Lakeland fought back. Mike Rothenburg led off with a double to left-center. He beat out a close play at second, but Daytona manager Julio Morillo disagreed and was ejected in the ensuing argument.

After a walk and a strikeout, a flyball to right-center resulted inRodriguez and Ariel Almonte converging and colliding, with the ball being dropped for an error which loaded the bases. A wild pitch then brought in the first run. After a strikeout, McElvain had a chance to limit the damage to one run, but Carlos Pelegrin rolled a slow roller just inside the first base line for a two-run double to put Lakeland ahead 3-1, with all three tallied being unearned.

The Tortugas had an immediate answer, however. Yerlin Confidan doubled with one out, then scored when Hector Rodriguez looped a base hit into shallow left to bring home Confidan. The hit extended Rodriguez’s hitting streak to eight games and cut the deficit to 3-2.

At that point, though, both pitching staffs settled in. McElvain (2-2) struck out a pair of batters in the fourth to reach nine punchouts for the night, matching a season high. He returned for the fifth with a chance to be the first Tortuga to strike out ten batters in a game this season, but settled for a 1-2-3 inning without a punchout, finishing 5.0 innings with three hits, three unearned runs, three walks, and the nine strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fifth, Daytona had an opportunity to get McElvain off the hook, as they drew three walks against Chris Mauloni to load the bases with two outs. However, Eiker Huizi came on and induced a flyout to left by Cam Collier to escape the jam and keep Lakeland in front.

Huggins entered for Daytona and did his job, firing 4.0 scoreless innings in relief to extend a personal scoreless streak to 11.0 straight scoreless frames. However, a parade of Lakeland relievers did the same. Daytona did not record a hit after the third inning and only one baserunner—a two-out walk from Collier in the eighth—over the final four frames as Lakeland held on for the 3-2 win.

The Tortugas play game four against the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Friday night. RHP Mason Pelio (1-2, 3.99) will get the ball for Daytona against Lakeland RHP Marco Jimenez (0-1, 4.96). Tomorrow is Astronomy Night, with the first 1,000 fans receiving an Astronomy-themed Tortugas t-shirt presented by MOAS. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network 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.