FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 28, 2026) - Four Mighty Mussels moved up in the franchise record book as Fort Myers defeated the Palm Beach Cardinals 9-3 on Tuesday night at Hammond Stadium.
Home runs from Quentin Young, Jayson Bass and JP Smith II gave the Fort Myers’ (52-43, 15-15) offense 101 homers on the season, eclipsing 100 bombs for the third time in franchise history (since 1992). The franchise record of 103 home runs was set in 2023.
With five innings and seven strikeouts, Mussels’ starter Merit Jones (5-1) is now third in the Mussels’ era (since 2020) in innings (89.2) and second in strikeouts with 97 in a single-season. The righty sits within striking distance of record holders Pierson Ohl (101 strikeouts in 2022) and Eli Jones (100 innings in 2026).
“It’s really cool,” Jones said postgame. “I’ve been able to stay healthy this whole season… it's truly a blessing.”
With his stellar performance tonight, Jones lowered his ERA in July to 0.73 across 24.2 innings. He has now completed five innings six different times this season while pacing the Florida State League in innings.
Jones attributed his success to “pounding the zone and trusting my stuff.”
Young opened the scoring with a two-run opposite field homer off Double-A rehabber Ixan Henderson (0-1) in the second inning. It was the 13th homer of the season for the Minnesota Twins’ No. 13 prospect, moving him into a tie with Rubel Cespedes (2023) for second in modern franchise history. Next up is Brandon Winokur, who set the modern record with 14 home runs in 2024.
The Cardinals (49-47, 16-14) plated an unearned run in the fourth to make it 2-1.
Palm Beach went to their bullpen with one out in the fifth. Young connected on a triple to center, then Irvin Nunez followed with a first-pitch single to make it 3-1. Merphy Hernandez doubled down the right field line to advance Nunez to third.
Ramiro Dominguez then doubled to make it 5-1. Two batters later Jayson Bass capped the frame with a two-run homer to make it 7-1. Fort Myers hit for the cycle in a six batter span. Bass’ blast was his 13th of the season, tying him with Young and Cespedes in the record book.
Brent Francisco labored in the top of the seventh over two-thirds of an inning, throwing 35 pitches and allowing two runs. Mike McKenna relieved him and stranded two runners to keep the Mussels’ lead at 7-3.
In the eighth inning, Smith’s 12th home run of the year moved him into a tie with Kala’i Rosario (2022) for the third-most single-season home runs in the Mussels’ era, while extending the margin to 9-3.
McKenna recorded the final seven outs to secure Fort Myers’ first home Tuesday win of 2026.
The series continues on Wednesday, July 29. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:40 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.