Tortugas' Furious Rally Falls Just Short in Series Finale
JUPITER, FL—Hector Rodriguez homered to lead a furious comeback charge, but the Daytona Tortugas left the tying run at third as the Palm Beach Cardinals escaped with an 8-7 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach (30-21) held on to barely secure
JUPITER, FL—Hector Rodriguez homered to lead a furious comeback charge, but the Daytona Tortugas left the tying run at third as the Palm Beach Cardinals escaped with an 8-7 win in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Palm Beach (30-21) held on to barely secure a series victory, nearly losing an 8-0 lead as Daytona (21-30) was no-hit for 6.1 innings before the Tortuga offense roared to life in the late innings.
In the first two innings, Palm Beach threatened to strike first. Two walks in the first sandwiched around a bad-hop double loaded the bases with one out, but Kevin Abel struck out the next two hitters to leave all runners stranded.
In the second, Abel again found himself in hot water, walking the first two batters. However, he induced three consecutive flyouts to keep the Cardinals off the board.
Johnathan Harmon relieved Abel in the third and he too ran into trouble. However, he stranded two runners in third and worked around a pair of leadoff hits in the fourth to keep the game scoreless. Palm Beach had stranded nine runners in the first four frames.
In the fifth, though, Palm Beach finally cashed in. Two straight singles with one out in the fifth led to a sacrifice fly from Adanson Cruz to bring home the first run of the game.
On the other side, Daytona had no answers for Palm Beach starter Max Racjic. Rajcic threw five perfect innings and retired a 16th consecutive hitter to open the sixth before plunking Yerlin Confidan to end the perfect game. Rajcic (5-2) then caught Confidan stealing and retired the next hitter to finish 6.0 hitless frames.
In the bottom of the sixth, things fell apart for Daytona. Three pitchers took the mound for Daytona in the frame as Palm Beach send a dozen hitters to the plate. Four hits and five walks led to seven runs scoring, with a bases-loaded double by Lizandro Espinoza providing the icing on top, pushing Palm Beach’s lead to 8-0.
Rajcic departed in the seventh for Joseph King who lost the no-hit bid on a single by Carlos Jorge with one out, but Daytona left two men aboard to end the inning.
In the eighth, though, the Tortugas mounted a big two-out rally. Rodriguez singled home the first run before Sal Stewart walked and Cade Hunter was hit, both with the bases loaded, to bring in two more runs. A throwing error brought in two more tallies to make it 8-5. Daytona then re-loaded the bases, but Logan Tanner took a called third strike on a 3-2 delivery to end the inning.
In the ninth, Daytona continued the push in the ninth. After a leadoff walk, Rodriguez launched a 377-foot drive to right-center that cleared the fence for his eighth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to one. Jorge followed with a bloop double to put the tying run in scoring position, before Stewart moved him to third on a flyout, but Hunter struck out with the tying run 90 feet away to end the game, as Daytona fell just short, 8-7.
Hector Rodriguez with a two-run bomb!
— Daytona Tortugas (@daytonatortugas) June 4, 2023
The Tortugas are DOWN ONE in the 9th, 8-7! pic.twitter.com/JDWkXl7LQi
The Tortugas will have Monday off before continuing the road trip with the first of six games in Port St. Lucie against the St. Lucie Mets on Tuesday night. Starters for both teams are still to be determined. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. with pregame on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas Brennan Mense at 5:55 from Clover Park.
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.