Red-hot Miracle (6-0) power past Yankees 5-4

By SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

TAMPA — The Fort Myers Miracle flexed their muscles on Tuesday night at Legends Field and took a 5-4 victory against the Tampa Yankees for their sixth win in a row to start the season.

The Miracle used three solo homers en route to the victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the third inning, Kyle Geiger hit a 2-0 fastball over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season and just the third homer of his career. One inning later, Brock Peterson launched a pitch over the left-center field wall for his first homer of the season, to tie the game at 2. Two batters later, Scott Whitrock crushed a pitch over the left-field wall for a 3-2 Fort Myers advantage.

After the Yankees tied the Florida State League game at 3 in the fifth inning, Whitrock plated Matt Moses with an RBI ground out in the sixth. The Miracle added an insurance run in the seventh on a two-out, RBI double by Felix Molina.

The Yankees got to within 5-4 on a sacrifice fly by Matt Carson in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn't get any closer. Miracle closer Julio DePaula made it interesting in the ninth, when he walked Hector Made and Eric Verbryke with one out. After Carson's fielder's choice moved Made to third, DePaula got Erold Andrus to strike out to end the game.

The Miracle trail only their 1994 and '96 clubs, who began 9-0, for the best start in franchise history.

Fort Myers will look to add to its hot start at 7 tonight in the finale of the series. The Miracle will send left-hander Errol Simonitsch (1-0, 0.00) to the mound to start against Yankees righty Justin Jones (0-1, 5.06).