Hernandez drives in five as Mussels dump Cardinals, 8-1
Fort Myers pitchers allow just two hits in win
JUPITER – Merphy Hernandez matched a career-high with five RBI as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels defeated the Palm Beach Cardinals 8-1 Thursday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The Fort Myers’ (63-52, 26-24) pitching staff allowed just two hits on the night, while the offense scored seven unanswered runs off of the Cardinals (58-59, 25-26).
Hernandez, the Mussels’ right fielder, delivered a pair of run scoring hits to match his career-high in RBI. The first five RBI showing for the speedster came on Aug. 2, 2024, in the Dominican Summer League.
For the second straight night, the contest began in a weather delay. The game was delayed by 1:17, nearly double the delay on Wednesday.
Fort Myers’ starter Cristian Hernandez picked up a pair of strikeouts in the first, needing just 11 pitches to retire the side in order.
Leading off the second inning, Minnesota Twins 13th rounder Isaiah Lane took the first pitch of the frame the other way for his first professional homer, making it 1-0.
C. Hernandez retired the first seven batters he faced on 28 total pitches before hitting Jayden Lobliner with a pitch in the third inning. Hideki Prather later caught Lobliner trying to advance on a slider in the dirt.
C. Hernandez finished his day with four innings of work. He allowed a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly but left the go-ahead run at third. The 21-year-old faced two above the minimum and struck out three Cardinals.
Bryce Fowler led off the fifth with a single to right. Prather then reached on an error to put two aboard. M. Hernandez followed with a laser over the wall in right, putting Fort Myers back in front 4-1.
With two outs in the sixth, undrafted free agent Jimmy Keenan shot the first affiliated hit of his professional career up the middle for a single. Later in the frame, M. Hernandez singled to center to plate two more runs to extend the lead 6-1.
Jake Covey (3-0) covered the fourth through seventh innings. He faced two over the minimum and recorded five strikeouts. He has now gone 11.1 innings without allowing an earned run to begin his Florida State League career.
Hendry Chivilli worked a clean eighth on just nine pitches.
Lane added an insurance run in the ninth on an infield pop-up that a pair of Cardinals couldn’t corral. A throwing error on a stolen base attempt led to another Fort Myers’ run, making it 8-1.
Chivilli faced the minimum in the ninth. Mussels’ pitching finished the day facing four over the minimum while allowing multiple base runners in just one frame.
Fort Myers’ win and Tampa’s loss to Dayonta moved the Mussels to six games back of the Tarpons with 16 games to play in the regular season.
The series continues today, Aug. 21. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning at 6:20 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.