Pitching Great for Eight, but Tarpons Rally in Ninth to Swipe Victory

TAMPA, FL—Johnathan Harmon and Zach Maxwell held the Tampa Tarpons scoreless for eight innings, but the Daytona Tortugas let a three-run lead slip away in the ninth inning as Tampa scored four times in the ninth to steal a 4-3 victory on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Tampa (3-4, 34-38) rallied to earn their first victory of the series, in the process snapping Daytona’s (5-1, 34-37) five-game win streak and handing Daytona their largest ninth-inning collapse this season.

In the first, Daytona had an opportunity to score right away, as Victor Acosta led off the game by doubling down the right field line on Hayden Merda’s first pitch of the game. He then advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw. However, he was waved home and was thrown out at the plate, costing the Tortugas the early scoring chance. A leadoff double in the second by Cade Hunter also failed to lead to a run for Daytona.

On the other side, Tampa put runners in scoring position in the first three frames against Harmon. However, he left a runner at second in the first and stranded runners at first and second in each of the next two frames.

In the fourth, Daytona finally was able to cash in a leadoff double. Sal Stewart led off by ripping a two-bagger to left, extending his hitting streak to eight games in the process. After moving to third on a groundout, Yassel Pino lofted a fly ball to left that was plenty deep to score Stewart, bringing in the first run of the game to put Daytona ahead 1-0.

Harmon turned around and brushed aside a one-out walk in the fourth before allowing a leadoff single in the fifth. However, after a strikeout, he induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and with it, his outing. Harmon went 5.0 scoreless frames, striking out five and working around three hits and three walks. In the process he finished June with 14.0 consecutive scoreless innings.

Maxwell came on and struck out a pair of batters while working around a two-out single in the sixth before firing a 1-2-3 seventh. He stayed on for the eighth as well and issued a leadoff walk. However, he buckled down to induce a flyout, then was on the back end of an inning-ending 3-6-1 double play to finish off 3.0 scoreless frames in relief.

In the ninth, Daytona broke through for insurance against Alex Bustamante. Hector Rodriguez led off with a double, which was followed by a walk to Stewart. Hunter followed that with an RBI single to right. Pino then stepped up and rolled a soft grounder to second that brought in Stewart, pushing the lead to 3-0.

However, Tampa came alive against Joseph Menefee in the ninth. Two walks bracketed a bloop single to load the bases with no outs before a fielder’s choice brought in a run. A bloop single down the right field line from Beau Brewer brought in a second run. Jared Serna narrowly missed a walk-off three-run homer foul before striking out. However, a third walk loaded the bases for Jesus Rodriguez, who looped a single into right that brought in two runs, allowing Tampa to steal a 4-3 victory.

The Tortugas will play game four against the Tampa Tarpons on Saturday night. Daytona will send RHP Kevin Abel (2-1, 4.55) to the mound opposite RHP Sean Hermann (4-4, 5.98) for Tampa. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense begins at 6:15 from George M. Steinbrenner Field.

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.