Perez drives Dunedin to thrilling walk-off win

DUNEDIN, FL – In a game that featured four ties, Daniel Perez delivered the deciding blow, hopping a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to clinch a 6-5 walk-off victory over St. Lucie on Wednesday night at TD Ballpark.

The Blue Jays’ win pushes their record to 24-23 – marking the first time Dunedin has gotten over .500 since April 24 (9-8).

Both teams struck for early runs, despite strong pitching from both starters. Colin Houck punched a two-out RBI single in the top of the first against Juaron Watts-Brown, but the run was unearned due to an earlier error.

Alexis Hernandez responded in the bottom of the second inning, belting a solo homer to tie the game at one. The longball marked Hernandez’s third of the season – all in the last week.

Then, in the third inning, Victor Arias launched a high-arcing solo home run out to right center field to deliver a 2-1 lead for the Jays.

Watts-Brown eventually pitched through the fourth, punching out eight in the process. The outing marks the third consecutive in which the Jays’ No. 18 prospect has struck out eight or more in just four innings of work.

After a scoreless fifth inning from Aaron Munson, Houck delivered his second RBI single of the night in the top of the sixth to knot the game at 2.

The deadlock didn’t last long, as the Jays took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Manuel Beltre RBI double that drove in Arias. Beltre eventually scored on a balk to extend the lead to 4-2.

St. Lucie answered with another two-run rally in the top of the eighth inning. After Yhoangel Aponte and Bryce Arnold executed a perfect relay to catcher Edward Duran to cut down Ronald Hernandez trying to score, the Mets re-knotted the game thanks to a pinch-hit, two-RBI double from Kellum Clark.

Again, the call-and-response pattern continued in the bottom of the eighth, as Beltre and Peyton Williams walked. Beltre stole third base, and then came into score on a wild pitch to regain the lead, 5-4.

Keiner Leon entered the game in the top of the ninth to attempt the save, but after a strikeout, ran into a jam. Boston Baro walked, Jesus Baez singled, and then Ronald Hernandez reached on a slow roller down the first base line that took an awkward bounce off first base past the first baseman Williams.

With the bases loaded, Leon recovered with a strikeout, and then pushed Houck into a two-strike count. This time, he didn’t need to take the bat off his shoulder to tie the game, as a wild pitch allowed Baro to score from third to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.

With one-out, Hernandez battled an 0-2 count full, then ripped a single. The next batter, Perez, bounced a high hopper over the first baseman Ronald Hernandez down the line in right. In a dead sprint, Alexis Hernandez scored from first, beating the relay throw from shallow right by two steps to end the contest.

Dunedin, now winners of four straight, will look to clinch at least a series split tomorrow night at 6:30. Tickets are available now at DunedinBlueJays.com.