Tortugas Tamed in 4-1 Setback

JUPITER, Fla—The Palm Beach Cardinals held the Daytona Tortugas to just one run on seven hits as the Tortugas fell for a second night in a row, dropping a 4-1 decision on Friday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Palm Beach (39-17, 77-46) officially clinched the second half FSL East Division title, though Daytona (30-26, 61-61) did see their magic number to clinch a playoff spot trimmed to five with a Jupiter loss at St. Lucie.

For the second night in a row, Palm Beach took a first-inning lead. Ian Petrutz singled with one out, then moved to second on a ball in the dirt. With two outs, Jose Suarez singled to left-center, scoring Petrutz to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

On the other side, Palm Beach starter Gerardo Salas was locked in from the start. The right-hander retired the first five batters he faced before a two-out walk in the second. Salas then struck out the side in the third before allowing Daytona’s first hit in the fourth, a two-out single to Ariel Almonte, though it did not lead to a run.

In the fifth, Daytona finally got to Salas. With one out, Jack Moss singled to left, then went to third on a broken-bat bloop to right by Malvin Valdez. Valdez then was picked off first, but Moss raced home while Valdez was in the rundown and successfully scored, tying the game at one.

After the first-inning run, Nick Sando settled down and finished his outing with three scoreless frames, allowing one run and striking out four over 4.0 scoreless innings before giving way to Cole Schoenwetter in the fifth.

Schoenwetter began his outing with a strikeout, but Cade McGee stepped up and blasted a 1-2 fastball from the right-hander over the left-field fence for a solo shot that put the Cardinals in front 2-1.

Daytona looked to answer in the sixth against the Cardinals bullpen, but could not capitalize on a leadoff walk. In the seventh, Moss and Ryan McCrystal each picked up their second hits of the night, but they were both stranded.

Schoenwetter, meanwhile, followed up the homer with a pair of scoreless innings. He brushed off a one-out walk in the sixth, then struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh.

In the eighth, though, the Cardinals added key insurance. With one out, Madron singled and Petrutz walked. JJ Wetherholt then rifled an RBI single through the right side, scoring Madron and moving Petrutz to third. After Schoenwetter departed, a slow chopper from Suarez brought in Petrutz for a second run, putting the Cardinals in front 4-1.

In the ninth, Daytona picked up a one-out single against Palm Beach’s Luis Gastelum, but nothing more, as Gastelum picked up his seventh save, nailing down a 4-1 victory for the Cardinals.

The Tortugas will play game six against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday night. First pitch from Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium will be at 6:00 p.m. with pregame coverage on the Tortugas Radio Network with the Voice of the Tortugas, Brennan Mense, beginning at 5:50 p.m.