Three Homers Lead Hard-Hitting Tortugas to Fourth-Straight Win

DAYTONA BEACH—Hector Rodriguez, Cade Hunter, and Ariel Almonte all homered and Yan Contreras added three hits and three RBI as the Daytona Tortugas slugged their way past the St. Lucie Mets in front of a season-high 2,619 fans at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday night.

Daytona (13-19) set season highs in homers while tying their season best in runs scored as the Tortugas secured their fourth straight victory, overcoming 16 strikeouts from the St. Lucie (8-24) pitching staff.

After Chris McElvain spun a 1-2-3 first, the Tortugas got going right away. Rodriguez led off the bottom of the first and deposited a 1-1 offering from St. Lucie starter Douglas Orellana 413 feet over the center field wall for his sixth home run of the season.

Hector is HOT 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Hector Rodriguez gets things started with a solo homer to lead off the first, his 6th of the season! pic.twitter.com/sbWdakxEE5

— Daytona Tortugas (@daytonatortugas) May 13, 2023

In the second, McElvain was dinged for a solo homer by Yeral Martinez that tied the game at one apiece, but Daytona immediately had a big response.

Hunter led off with a 413-foot blast to right to put the Tortugas back in front. After a couple walks, Contreras followed with a two-run double to left-center to bring in both runners. Two batters later, he scored on a Sal Stewart sacrifice fly before Hector Rodriguez came home on a Cam Collier single with an error to bring home the run, capping off a five-run frame that put Daytona up 6-1.

In the fourth, St. Lucie got back a pair of runs. Wilfredo Lara led off with a double and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly. Following a two-out single, a dropped pop-up extended the inning for Kevin Villavicencio, who legged out an infield single to score a second run, closing the gap to 6-3.

Contreras, though, led off the fourth with a double to deep center, then scored when Rodriguez singled and the ball was mishandled in center.

St. Lucie got the run back with two outs in the fifth as Lara crushed a 437-foot home run to left, but McElvain (1-1) responded with a strikeout to finish the fifth, capping off an outing where he went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts, becoming the first Daytona starting pitcher to earn a victory this season.

The offense gave him a parting gift in the bottom of the fifth. Hunter led off with a single and Almonte tripled him home with a shot to right-center. With two outs, Contreras came through with his third hit, a bloop to left-center to put Daytona ahead 9-4.

One inning later, Almonte put a cap on the onslaught with an opposite-field line drive to left that just cleared the fence to stretch the lead to 10-4.

From there, the pitching staff did the rest. Kenya Huggins entered to begin the fifth and fired 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing only a single hit and a walk.

Jacob Heatherly took the baton in the ninth and allowed a leadoff single and a one-out walk. However, he induced a chopper to second that Stewart snagged, tagged second, and fired to first for a game-ending 4-3 twin killing that secured the Tortugas’ fourth straight victory.

The Tortugas will finish off the series on Sunday evening against St. Lucie. Tomorrow will be another Shelldon’s Family Fun Day. First pitch is at 5:00 with gates opening at 4:00. RHP Mason Pelio (1-2, 4.15) will get the ball for Daytona against St. Lucie RHP Jawilme Ramirez (1-1, 2.93). Pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network and Bally Live with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 4:45 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.