PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Jake Brink turned in the longest outing of his professional career and Daytona's pitching staff did not issue a walk for the first time this season, but the Tortugas were dealt a heartbreaking finish Friday night at Clover Park.
With the game still scoreless and St. Lucie down to its final out in the ninth, Julio Zayas launched a two-run walk-off home run to hand Daytona a 2-0 loss and even the seven-game series at two games apiece.
The Rundown
Pitching controlled the night from the outset, beginning with Ryjeteri Merite, who retired nine of the 10 batters he faced across 3.0 scoreless innings in his Single-A debut. The 20-year-old left-hander allowed only a second-inning single to Zayas, walked none and struck out four on just 31 pitches.
Daytona had an early opportunity against Ethan Lanthier in the first. Steele Hall opened the game with an infield single, moved to second on a groundout and was stranded there after consecutive strikeouts ended the inning.
Hall added another single in the third before Jalen Hairston walked to put two aboard with two outs, but Arnaldo Lantigua flew out to end the threat.
Brink entered to begin the fourth and immediately continued the pitching dominance. Wyatt Vincent singled to open the inning, but Brink erased him moments later with a pickoff before retiring the next two hitters.
The Tortugas continued to find baserunners but could not break through. Adolfo Sanchez singled in the fourth, Drew Davies singled in the fifth and Lantigua opened the sixth with another single, but none advanced home as Daytona finished the night 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
St. Lucie put two runners aboard against Brink in the fifth on singles from Yovanny Rodriguez and Bohan Adderley, but Brink struck out Dylan Carey and induced a popout from Kooper Schulte to preserve the scoreless tie.
From there, Brink settled in completely. He retired the Mets in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, including back-to-back strikeouts in the sixth and another strikeout to finish a perfect eighth.
Daytona's best late opportunity came in the seventh when Bernard Moon drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Christian Rodriguez responded by striking out Ichiro Cano, getting Davies to fly out and fanning Hall to strand the potential go-ahead run.
Lantigua collected his second hit with a one-out single in the eighth, but Zack Mack came out of the bullpen and stranded him. Daytona then went quietly in the ninth after Torres reached on an error, with Moon grounding into a double play before Cano grounded out.
Brink returned for the bottom of the ninth having already tied his previous career high in innings. He retired Vladi Gomez on a bunt and Vincent on a bunt popout, moving Daytona within one out of extra innings.
Ryan Tayman was then hit by a pitch, bringing Zayas to the plate with two outs. On a 1-0 pitch, Zayas drove a two-run home run to center field, abruptly ending a game that had remained scoreless for its first 53 outs.
Brink finished with 5.2 innings, four hits, two runs, no walks and four strikeouts. Combined with Merite's three scoreless frames, Daytona pitching allowed only five hits, struck out eight and did not issue a walk.
The loss marked the second time this week St. Lucie has walked off Daytona, with both of the Mets' victories in the series coming in their final at-bat.
Stat of the Game: 0 — Daytona pitchers did not issue a walk for the first time in a game this season, as Merite and Brink combined for 8.2 innings with eight strikeouts and no base on balls.
Notes
• Daytona fell to 45-59 overall and 24-14 in the second half
• The Tortugas fell to 4-2 in August
• Daytona fell to 6-12 on Fridays
• The seven-game series is tied 2-2
• St. Lucie leads the season series 10-5
• The Tortugas fell to 15-36 on the road
• Daytona fell to 35-42 in night games
• The Tortugas fell to 31-47 against right-handed starters
• Daytona fell to 9-6 when tied after eight innings
• The Tortugas fell to 6-14 in two-run games
• Daytona fell to 8-45 when scoring fewer than five runs
• The Tortugas fell to 34-3 when outhitting an opponent
• Daytona was shut out for the fourth time this season and for the first time since July 24 at Clearwater
• Brink set a new career high with 5.2 innings, surpassing his previous best of 5.0 innings on Opening Day, April 2 vs. Jupiter
• Brink allowed four hits and two runs while walking none and striking out four
• Merite tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and four strikeouts
• Daytona pitchers did not issue a walk for the first time in a game this season
• Hall recorded his first career Single-A multi-hit game
• Lantigua recorded his 15th multi-hit game and 12th two-hit game of the season
• Hall extended his on-base streak to seven games
• Moon extended his on-base streak to 11 games
• Sanchez extended his on-base streak to five games
• Both of St. Lucie’s victories in the series have come on walk-offs
Up Next
Daytona and St. Lucie will play a doubleheader Saturday, August 8 at Clover Park beginning at 4 p.m. ET. Both games are scheduled for seven innings. Game two, which is a makeup for the rainout on Tuesday, August 4, will begin approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one.