Tortugas Ride Hot Bats, Big Seventh Frame to 10-3 Victory

DAYTONA BEACH—Cade Hunter homered, Hector Rodriguez ripped three more hits, and the Daytona Tortugas blew open a close game with a five-run seventh to earn their fourth win in a row, 10-3 over the Palm Beach Cardinals on Tuesday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona (29-35) reached double-digit runs for the third time this year as Palm Beach (36-28) fell behind quickly and never quite recovered, leaving 13 runners on base.

Bryce Hubbart started off the night for Daytona with a 1-2-3 inning, then sat back and watched his offense put together an early big inning.

Against Palm Beach lefty Brycen Mautz, Rodriguez singled with one out in the first, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Sal Stewart RBI double. After a walk to Hunter, Yassel Pino lined a two-run double into the gap in left-center to bring in two more runs, staking the Tortugas to a 3-0 lead.

The Cardinals threatened to get those runs back in the second, loading the bases with one out on two walks sandwiched around a double. However, Hubbart ended the inning with two straight strikeouts to end the threat.

Daytona then extended the lead in the bottom of the inning. Carlos Jorge reached on an infield single, then scored on a triple from Rodriguez. Mautz retired the next two batters, but the Tortugas now led 4-0.

Hubbart worked around a leadoff single in the third, but then allowed a solo home run to Won-Bin Cho to open up the fourth inning. He settled down, though, to allow nothing more in the inning, finishing the inning with a strikeout to finish off with 4.0 innings, one run on four hits, two walks, and a career-high seven strikeouts.

He handed things off to Jacob Heatherly in the fifth, who walked the bases loaded before allowing an infield single to Chris Rotondo to bring in a run. He was able to strike out the following hitter, though, to leave the bases loaded, with the score now 4-2.

In the sixth, Palm Beach drew even closer. Brody Jessee entered the game and with one out walked two more hitters. A wild pitch moved them up into scoring position for Jose Fermin, who rolled a ground ball to second to score a run, trimming the lead to 4-3.

Frainger Aranguren came on and also ran into some trouble in the seventh, allowing a walk, a single, and hitting a batter. However, Logan Tanner threw out a runner stealing and Aranguren picked up a strikeout with two men aboard to end the inning.

In the bottom of the frame, Daytona broke the game open. Hunter singled and two walks loaded the bases with no outs for Victor Acosta, who roped a 3-1 pitch into right field for a two-run single. Ariel Almonte followed with a double to left that scored two more runs. Three batters later, Rodriguez capped off the frame with his third hit of the night, a single to center to put Daytona up 9-3 after a five-run inning.

An inning later, Hunter provided capped off the victory with a solo home run to straightaway center, his sixth of the season.

Aranguren, meanwhile, worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings, capping off a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout to nail down Daytona’s fourth consecutive victory.

The Tortugas will play game two against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Wednesday night. RHP Arij Fransen (2-4, 5.63) will get the ball for Daytona against Palm Beach RHP Hancel Rincon (5-3, 3.59). Tomorrow will be a Belly Buster Wednesday with all-you-can-eat hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, and Marco’s Pizza. Gates will open at 5:30 with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. 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.