Stewart's Homer Extends Streak, but Tortugas Drop Fourth Straight

DAYTONA BEACH—Sal Stewart swatted his eighth home run of the season, but the Daytona Tortugas were held to just six hits as the Bradenton Marauders came out victorious, 4-2 on Thursday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Bradenton (8-4, 42-34) quieted the Tortuga offense as Daytona (7-5, 36-41) dropped their fourth consecutive game.

After both pitchers spun scoreless first frames, Daytona jumped ahead against Bradenton starter Luis Peralta in the second. With two outs, Donovan Antonia drew a walk. Johnny Ascanio followed with a drive off the left field wall for an RBI triple, staking the Tortugas to a 1-0 lead.

On the other side, Kevin Abel was sharp for Daytona over the first three innings. He worked around two hits in the first, but threw 1-2-3 second and third frames. He began the fourth with his fifth strikeout of the night, which also was the eighth straight batter he retired.

However, the game turned immediately thereafter, as a walk and single followed to put runners on the corners with one out. A caught stealing had Abel on the cusp of ending the inning, but a wild pitch brought home Rodolfo Nolasco. Nick Cimillo and Deivis Nadal then followed with back-to-back doubles, bringing in two more runs, which not only made the score 3-1 Bradenton, but also ended Abel’s night.

Peralta did not allow another hit, though his defense can be thanked for that. In the fourth, Yassel Pino crushed a drive to deep left-center, but center fielder Shalin Polanco leaped high over the wall and pulled down Pino’s drive, robbing the Tortuga first baseman of a solo home run.

before handing off the lead to rehabbing MLB right-hander Wil Crowe in the fifth. Daytona began the inning with a pair of soft singles from Antonia and Ascanio. However, a double play ball was followed by a second groundout, quelling that threat.

The Tortuga bullpen held down the Bradenton offense as Joseph Menefee worked 1.1 scoreless innings before Luis Mey fired scoreless sixth and seventh innings.

Frainger Araguren followed by working a scoreless eighth, navigating around a one-out double. However, in the ninth, a walk and a single set the table for Josiah Sightler, who rolled an RBI single to right to push the Bradenton lead to 4-1.

In the bottom of the ninth, Stewart led off with a solo blast to left-center, a 402-foot shot that extended Stewart’s hitting streak to 13 games and closed the deficit to 4-2. Pino doubled with one out to bring the tying run to the plate. But consecutive strikeouts ended the game as Bradenton claimed their third straight to open the series.

The Tortugas will play game four against the Bradenton Marauders Friday night. Both teams’ starters are still to be announced. Tomorrow night will feature Friday night Happy Hour with pregame drink specials, plus music from Tropical Drifter. We will also light up the sky with postgame fireworks following the final out. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense begins 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.