Rainville, Morlan solid in 2-1 Miracle win

By Special to the Naples Daily News

SARASOTA — Fort Myers Miracle starter Jay Rainville went 6.2 innings on Thursday night while closer Eddie Morlan went the final 2.1 innings as the two hurlers shut down the Sarasota Reds in a 2-1 win at Ed Smith Stadium.

Rainville gave up a run on five hits, with seven strikeouts in the win. Morlan picked up his 18th save facing the final eight hitters giving up just one hit while fanning two.

Both Miracle runs came early on Thursday as a two-out single from Danny Valencia in the second kept the inning alive. After a hit by pitch from Reds starter Sean Watson to Edward Ovalle, Dwayne White connected on a 3-2 pitch with two outs and the runners in motion for a base hit to left, scoring Valencia, for the 1-0 lead.

In the Miracle fourth, three straight hits from Juan Portes, Valencia and Ovalle loaded the bases for White. A chopper up the middle from White allowed Sarasota second baseman Wayne Kendrick to step on the bag and turn two while Portes scored from third.

Rainville surrendered his lone run in the seventh as the Reds cut the lead in half. Tonys Gutierrez led off with a single to center and later scored on Anthony Esquer’s two-out single up the box. After Esquer’s single, Morlan entered the game and got a fly ball to center from Gerardo Cabrera to end the inning.

The Miracle received some help from Clearwater on Thursday night as the Threshers swept a doubleheader from the first-place Blue Jays. With the Miracle win and a pair of Dunedin losses, the Miracle find themselves still alive in the second-half playoff race, five games back.

The brief two-game series will close out on Friday night back in Sarasota at 7 p.m. The Miracle will send southpaw Errol Simonitsch (3-0, 6.00) against RHP Homer Bailey (0-0, 0.00) for the Reds making a rehab start at Ed Smith Stadium.