Fort Myers Walks Past Lakeland in Big Game

By DAVID YATES
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

LAKELAND - The Fort Myers Miracle took advantage of 10 walks by Lakeland pitchers to win an important Florida State League game, 11-4, at Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday night.

The victory enabled the Miracle to win two of three from the Flying Tigers over the weekend and, more importantly, kept Minnesota's FSL affiliate in the thick of the West Division second-half pennant race.

Fort Myers (33-24) has won 26 of its last 37 games and will return home to take on equally the hot Dunedin Blue Jays (36-20) trailing Dunedin by 3.5 games.

The Blue Jays swept three from Tampa over the weekend and have won five in a row and 28 of their last 43.

"We've been playing well and so have they and it's exciting to face Dunedin in our own stadium in a pennant race," said outfielder Juan Portes, who was the big man in the Miracle lineup Sunday.

Portes had the only hit of a five-run, seventh-inning rally, but oh, what a hit.

The 21-year-old outfielder rocketed a first-pitch inside fastball from Lakeland reliever Brendan Wise for a two-out, tie-breaking grand slam, his second homer of the game and 11th of the season.

"He had walked Erik (Lis) and Dustin (Martin) ahead of me so I figured he would try to get ahead with the fastball and was looking for it," said Portes.

Portes also doubled, scored four times and drove in five, his most productive game of the season.

Danny Worth singled and homered for Lakeland, while right-fielder Rafael Mendez doubled twice and drove in a pair for the Flying Tigers.

He also came in to strike out Fort Myers slugger Erik Lis with the bases loaded in the ninth, an inning that saw Flying Tiger hurlers walk five batters.

Lakeland will play host to Sarasota tonight at 7 in the first game of a three-game series with the Reds. The two teams will meet at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday and return to Marchant Wednesday.