Pino's Late Blast Too Little, Too Late as Tortugas Drop Pitcher's Duel

DAYTONA BEACH—Nestor Lorant spun 4.0 scoreless innings in his Daytona debut and Yassel Pino swatted his fourth home run, but the Daytona Tortugas were quieted 3-1 by the Jupiter Hammerheads on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Jupiter (10-11, 45-42) bounced back from Wednesday’s crushing defeat as they shut out Daytona (10-9, 39-45) over the first eight frames for the second night in a row, as the Tortugas were held to just five hits.

Like Wednesday’s game, the starters were locked in early as both teams recorded a two-out baserunner in the first, then both starters faced the minimum in the second. Lorant navigated a one-out walk in the third to finish another scoreless frame.

In the bottom of the third, Daytona mounted a two-out threat against Jupiter starter Ike Buxton. Carlos Jorge was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second on an error that extended the inning. Jorge then alertly swiped third on a throw back to the mound, putting runners on the corners, but Sal Stewart was robbed of a hit on a fine defensive play by shortstop Harrison Spohn, keeping Daytona off the board.

Lorant threw a 1-2-3 fourth to finish off 4.0 scoreless innings before giving way to Joseph Menefee. The left-hander was excellent to start his outing, firing perfect fifth and sixth frames, striking out three batters in the process.

On the other side, Ike Buxton continued to flummox the Tortugas, allowing a leadoff walk in the fourth, but then setting down the next nine hitters through the end of the sixth frame.

In the seventh, Menefee returned for his third inning of work, but things went south for the southpaw. A leadoff single by Javier Sanoja was followed with a walk. Following a sacrifice bunt, Carlos Santiago rolled a ground ball through a drawn-in infield to score Sanoja, breaking the tie.

Menefee (5-4) was then lifted for Frainger Aranguren, who induced a soft bouncer to short, but there was not adequate time for a throw home, as Torin Montgomery scored the second run. Jan Mercado followed with a slow dribbler that went for an infield single, scoring another run to stake Jupiter to a 3-0 lead.

Daytona mounted their best scoring threat of the night to begin the seventh. Buxton returned to the mound, but Cam Collier legged out an infield hit and Johnny Ascanio blooped a single to left. After a pitching change, though, Riskiel Tineo coaxed two groundouts in between a strikeout to deny the Tortuga opportunity.

Tineo stayed on into the ninth when he was greeted by a first-pitch blast that departed 396 feet from home plate to left-center from Pino to lead off the inning. After an out, a single from Ascanio brought the tying run to the plate. He then gave way to Evan Taylor, who induced a comebacker on the second pitch of his outing, beginning a 1-4-3 twin killing that ended the game as Jupiter won 3-1.

The Tortugas will play game four against Jupiter on Friday night. RHP Mason Pelio (2-2, 3.93) gets the ball for Daytona against Jupiter LHP Cole Kirschsieper (6-4, 4.73). Tomorrow Daytona takes the field as the Rumberos for their second Copa de la Diversion Night. Gates will open at 5:30 with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. and pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense beginning 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.