Tandem of Tortugas Shut Down St. Lucie in Tidy 6-1 Victory

DAYTONA BEACH—Jared Lyons and Frainger Aranguren combined to hold the opposition to three hits and the Daytona Tortugas jumped out to an early lead as they cruised to a 6-1 win over the St. Lucie Mets on Wednesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (13-17, 42-53) needed just 86 pitches from the duo to finish the crisp 2-hour, 9-minute affair, as they allowed only five baserunners to St. Lucie (9-23, 33-64), three of which were erased on double plays.

After Lyons faced the minimum in a scoreless first, Daytona jumped out to an early lead against St. Lucie starter Douglas Orellana. Victor Acosta and Hector Rodriguez both singled, and Acosta scored on a sacrifice fly from Cam Collier. Johnny Ascanio followed with a bloop double to right-center to score Rodriguez, giving Daytona a 2-0.

Lyons was sharp and efficient from the start on the other end, allowing only a two-out walk in the second before twirling a 1-2-3 third frame.

In the bottom half of the frame, Daytona doubled the lead. Rodriguez singled and Sal Stewart walked ahead of Collier, who rolled an RBI single into right field to score Rodriguez and move Stewart. Ascanio then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, scoring Stewart to make it 4-0.

An inning later, Ariel Almonte greeted reliever Luis A. Rodriguez with a 431-foot blast to deep left-center, upping the lead by another run on his fifth homer of the year, making it a 5-0 game.

Lyons started off with four no-hit innings, but lost the no-hit bid as well as the shutout to begin the fifth as former Stetson catcher Christian Pregent connected for his first professional homer. Lyons then allowed a single, but a bizarre 3-4-6-1 double play was followed by a flyout to secure five innings of one-run ball for Lyons.

Lyons (1-3) earned his first professional win by going a career-best 5.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout before giving way to Aranguren to begin the sixth.

The Tortugas added their final run of the night in the sixth as Yassel Pino led off with a hustling double, moved to third on a balk, and scored on a Logan Tanner RBI single to make it 6-1.

Aranguren did the rest, retiring the side in order in the sixth, seventh, and eighth. After retiring the first ten men he faced, he surrendered a one-out infield single in the ninth, but finished off his 12-out save by inducing a game-ending 6-4-3 double play to finish off a tidy 6-1 victory.

The Tortugas will play game three against the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night. RHP Gabriel Aguilera (0-1, 13.50) gets the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie LHP Felipe De La Cruz (2-5, 5.12). Tomorrow will be another Thirsty Thursday with drink specials beginning at just $1. First pitch from Jackie Robinson Ballpark will be at 6:35 p.m. with pregame coverage with the voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, beginning at 6:20 p.m. on the Tortugas Radio Network.

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.