Mussels blanked in series finale, fall 4-0 to Cardinals
FORT MYERS – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels dropped the series finale 4-0 to the Palm Beach Cardinals at Hammond Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Fort Myers (26-31) got a strong start from Twins No. 10 prospect CJ Culpepper in his first appearance on a rehab assignment with the Mussels.
Culpepper, who pitched part of the 2023 season with Fort Myers, tossed three scoreless innings and allowed a single base hit, while striking out four.
Michael Carpenter (0-3) was the originally scheduled starter for Sunday’s series finale, and pitched in a piggyback role after Culpepper exited.
The Twins No. 30 prospect, Carpenter spun 3.2 innings, allowing one run on a pair of hits while punching out three Cardinal batters.
Palm Beach (25-30) got their first run of the game in the top of the seventh inning after Carpenter exited. He was charged with one run after a wild pitch from Jakob Hall allowed an inherited runner to score and gave Palm Beach a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals got their second run of the frame after shortstop Cade McGee doubled to extend their advantage to 2-0.
In the top of the ninth, Palm Beach added a pair of runs against Mussels’ reliever Zander Sechrist. Jose Suarez and Anyelo Encarnacion led off the inning with back-to-back triples, and Romtres Cabrera made it 4-0 on a sacrifice fly one batter later.
It was just the second time in 57 games that the Mussels were shut out offensively.
After an off day today, the Mussels will travel to Dunedin to begin a six-game series with the Blue Jays at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Eighth inning rally sends Mussels past Cardinals, 3-1, Saturday
FORT MYERS – Yohander Martinez’s two-out, two-run double pushed the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels past the Palm Beach Cardinals 3-1 at Hammond Stadium Saturday night.
After Palm Beach (25-30) reliever Braden Davis retired the first two batters of the bottom of the eighth inning, Jose Rodriguez drew a four-pitch walk. The next batter, Jefferson Valladares, was hit by a pitch, putting two runners aboard.
Caleb McNeely then walked, which loaded the bases for Martinez, who rifled a 1-2 pitch down the left field line to score Rodriguez and Valladares and give the Mussels a 3-1 lead.
Twins No. 13 prospect Dasan Hill got the start for Fort Myers (26-30) and dazzled in his first appearance at home since April 12. The lefty spun four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out seven Cardinal hitters.
Hill threw a season-high 62 pitches, and has now fanned five or more hitters in six of his eight starts in 2025. He topped out at 96.8 mph.
The Mussels got on the scoreboard first for the third time in as many nights. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, McNeely singled back up the middle.
One batter later, Martinez reached on a three-base error to left field, which allowed McNeely to score and gave Fort Myers a 1-0 advantage.
Palm Beach fought back in the sixth, as Luis Pino laced an RBI double off Mussels’ reliever Adrian Bohorquez (1-3) to tie the game 1-1.
Bohorquez allowed one run over four innings of relief and struck out five batters.
Ivran Romero earned his third save of the season, working around an error in the ninth inning to secure the series split for Fort Myers.