Osman Excellent in Relief as Tortugas Eliminated in First Half Race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla--Malvin Valdez swatted two hits and drove in a run and Graham Osman spun a career-best 3.1 scoreless innings or relief, but the Daytona Tortugas were eliminated from first half playoff contention with a 7-2 loss to the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Palm Beach (34-28) kept pace half a game behind Jupiter in the Florida State League East Division standings while Daytona (30-32) missed a chance to claw back to .500 as their four-season playoff drought drags on for at least one more half.

Palm Beach struck right away in the top of the first against Daytona starter Nick Payero. Trey Paige led off with a double, then scored two batters later on a single by Miguel Villarroel. After a walk, Palm Beach added on with a big two-out hit, as Johnfrank Salazar lined a double to left-center, scoring both runners to put the Cardinals ahead 3-0.

Daytona answered in the bottom of the first against Palm Beach starter Chen-Wei Lin. Sammy Stafura led off with a double to right-center, moved to third on a flyout, then came home when Ariel Almonte lifted a sacrifice fly to left.

Payero spun a 1-2-3 second, but the right-hander ran into trouble again in the third. With one out, Villarroel singled for a second time, then scored when Chase Davis blasted a two-run home run to right-center, extending the Palm Beach lead to 5-1.

Daytona had an opportunity to cut into the lead as the first two men reached in the third, only for Lin to retire the next three batters. In the fourth, though, Daytona did trim a run off the lead. Jack Moss walked with one out, then motored all the way home when Valdez pulled a double down the left field line, closing the gap to 5-2.

Payero fired a scoreless fourth, then recorded two outs in the fifth, finishing his night with a career-high 4.2 innings of work. With two on and two outs, Osman came on and picked up a strikeout to end the inning.

The southpaw then worked around a leadoff hit with a double play in the sixth, then spun a 1-2-3 seventh. Meanwhile, Lin worked around two hits and a walk in the sixth as he finished 6.0 innings of two-run ball.

Henry Gomez entered for Palm Beach in the seventh and worked around a walk. On the other side, Osman finished off his 3.1-scoreless innings outing by navigating around a leadoff double in the eighth.

Alex Johnson entered in the ninth for Daytona and allowed a pair of runs, while Gomez went the final three innings for Palm Beach, closing out a 7-2 victory for the Cardinals.

The two squads will close out the series tomorrow evening with a Father's Day affair at The Jack. In addition to Shelldon's Family Fun Day, we will celebrate Father's Day with prizes every inning for fathers in attendance. Gates will open at 4:00 tomorrow with first pitch at 5:00 p.m. Pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network and MiLB.tv and Bally Live will begin at 4:50.