Robertis ends pitchers’ duel with walk-off homer in 11th

DUNEDIN, FL – After a shutout through 10 and a half innings, Robert Robertis called off the pitchers’ duel, ending the first half with a two-run walk off homer to deliver a 2-0 victory for the Blue Jays over Daytona on Thursday night at TD Ballpark.

Ricky Tiedemann started the game for Dunedin, on rehab from AAA-Buffalo. Toronto’s No. 1 prospect set the tone for the evening with two shutout frames, including four strikeouts.

Daytona starter Adam Serwinowski, not to be outdone, opened his outing with an immaculate inning – nine pitches, nine strikes, three strikeouts – in the first.

Keiner Leon pitched a 1-2-3 third inning to set up Grant Rogers to open the fourth inning. The first two batters Rogers faced reached, resulting in runners on second and third with no outs. The next batter, Ariel Almonte, sent a line drive to second, where Cade Doughty made a leaping grab, and then threw to second to double off Ricardo Cabrera. Rogers then struck out Esmith Pineda to leave a runner on third.

Doughty picked up Dunedin’s first hit on a triple off the wall in right field in the bottom of the fourth, but the Jays left men on the corners to end the frame – Serwinowski’s last.

Rogers entered cruise control after the fourth, allowing just one baserunner in the next four innings. The righty returned for the ninth inning, but surrendered a walk and a single, and departed the game with runners on second and third.

Eliander Alcalde took over and got the Blue Jays out of the jam with a strikeout and a flyout, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth still scoreless. Dunedin went down in order in the bottom of the inning against Tortugas hurler Nestor Lorant to send the game to extras.

Alcalde remained in the contest for the 10th, and stranded runners on second and third. Lorant extended the game by setting the Jays down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning.

In the 11th, Yondrei Rojas entered, and eventually loaded the bases with two walks. However, the righty delivered a strikeout to leave the bases loaded and preserve the scoreless tie.

Yeuni Munoz opened the bottom of the 11th with a first-pitch pop-out. Robertis also swung on the first pitch – and crushed it down the line in right for a walk-off, two-run home run, his first of the season.

With the victory, Dunedin wraps up the first half with a 34-32 record – its best first half mark since 2019.

The second half begins tomorrow night, with first pitch set for 7:15. It’s Pride Night at TD Ballpark, as the first 500 fans will receive a koozie, and a fireworks show will follow the game. Tickets are available now at DunedinBlueJays.com.