The Cincinnati Reds picked up a new Advanced-A affiliate for the 2015 season when they moved from the California League where they were with the Bakersfield Blaze to the Florida State League where they joined up with the Daytona Tortugas.
For me, that was a big move as it meant that I could now travel to see the Advanced-A team play for the first time in years. Well, that time of year has arrived and I’m in Daytona right now. The game was rained out on my first night, but that just meant a double header for Sunday.
Before getting into the games though, let’s talk about Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The stadium was built in 1914 and it still has plenty of that old charm. The grandstand and bleachers really do give you the feeling that you’ve gone back in time a little bit. It’s a different kind of ballpark than I’m used to – I’ve only been to one other place that had a similar feel.
Now let’s talk about the games on Sunday afternoon. Daytona swept the double header, winning 3-0 and 1-0. The Tortugas scored three runs in the 1st inning of game one and that was more than enough for Nick Routt. The left hander tossed six shutout innings before Alejandro Chacin pitched a scoreless final inning for the save. In the second game the teams were both scoreless until the final at-bat. It was a bullpen game for Daytona where Scott Brattvet, Evan Mitchell and Carlos Gonzalez combined for seven shutout inning, setting up a chance for a walk-off. Ronald Bueno doubled to lead off the bottom of the 7th and it set up Junior Arias for this.
It’s a short post this week as I’m down in Daytona and am actually getting ready to travel up to Jacksonville to see Pensacola play on an off day for the Tortugas. Next Tuesday I will hopefully have some more as I will have had time to see Daytona for five games and a few games in Pensacola as well.