Miracle reeling from 3-game sweep by Jays

By DAVE DEVEREUX
Cape Coral Daily Breeze

The Fort Myers Miracle had just hit their stride, then got hit by the Dunedin Blue Jays’ express.

For the third straight game, the first-place Blue Jays rolled past the Miracle Wednesday night with outstanding starting pitching and a steady offensive attack.

After winning 8-2 and 9-3 in the first two games of this series, the Blue Jays (39-20) completed the sweep with an 11-6 win at Hammond Stadium.

The Blue Jays continued their dominance against the Miracle, winning for the 11th time in 15 meetings.

“They have a good offense, they hit well and they always seem to pitch well against us,” the Miracle’s Brian Dinkelman said.

The Miracle (33-27) had generated momentum with a hot start to the month, which included a 12-game win streak, but the Blue Jays have been on a tear of their own, stretching their streak now to eight in a row.

“We knew they were hot coming into this series,” Dunedin starting pitcher Brandon Magee said. “The key was to continue to do the things we’ve been doing and put together a good effort.”

Magee tossed seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits. It is the third time in the series that a Blue Jays’ starting pitcher worked at least seven innings. That included Robert Ray’s start Monday when he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

In contrast, Miracle starting pitchers struggled early in each game, either struggling to find the strike zone or getting hit hard. This time it was Zach Ward, who allowed seven runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays, who had runners on base constantly, finished with 14 hits for the second straight game Wednesday.

“We have to get better starts from our starters,” Miracle manager Kevin Boles said. “We have to make better pitches.”

At the start of the series the Miracle had hopes of catching the Blue Jays in the Florida State League Western Division, but after three consecutive losses the Miracle are 6 1/2 games back with only 10 games left.

They tried to salvage the final game of the series, but like the previous games the Blue Jays took control from the outset.

Eric Nielsen singled home the first run in the first, and Kyle Phillips laced a double down the first-base line to make it 2-0.

Phillips had three doubles for the Blue Jays, who scored three more in the second and one each in the third and fourth to chase Ward from the game and stretch the lead to 7-0. Yuber Rodriguez added a solo home run in the ninth.

The Miracle fought back from a 10-2 deficit. Danny Valencia smashed a three-run homer to left, capping a four-run eighth, and the Miracle loaded the bases in the ninth before a double play ended it.

“I was happy with how our guys fought back, our offense tried to make a comeback,” Boles said, “but we have to get better starting pitching.”

The Miracle begin a three-game road series at Sarasota Thursday. They have four remaining home games — three against Clearwater Aug. 25-27 and one against Sarasota Aug. 29 — before ending the season with three games at Dunedin.

Boles said the goal now is to finish strong.

“There is still a lot of baseball left,” Boles said. “We’ll be ready to play tomorrow.”