Miracle dealt 16th shutout

Special to the Cape Coral Daily Breeze

JUPITER — It was the Adam Ottavino show Monday night as the Palm Beach starter went eight innings, allowing only four hits, as his Cardinals shut out the Fort Myers Miracle 4-0.

Ottavino (5-5) struck out seven and handed the Miracle their 16th scoreless defeat this season. It’s also the third straight loss for the Miracle (2-3). Ottavino, a first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals a year ago, proved his worth by retiring 19 of his final 20 hitters on the night.

The first of four Palm Beach runs came across in the fifth inning as James Rapoport’s fielder’s choice brought home A.J. Van Slyke for a 1-0 lead.

One of two Miracle errors on the night led to the first of two Cardinal runs in the sixth. Van Slyke’s RBI-single gave the Cardinals a three-run lead.

The final run came on another fielder’s choice in the seventh, this one by Ian Church, and proved to be more than enough run support for Ottavino.

The Miracle had two scoring chances early, but were unable take advantage of either situation. Brian Dinkelman smashed a one-out triple in the first, but was stranded at third as Luis Ugueto and Erik Lis both grounded out to short to end the inning.

With two outs in the second, Javi Sanchez popped up to Isaias Garcia at second to strand two runners.

The finale of the four-game series starts at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday. The Miracle (2-3) will try to avoid their third sweep of the year by sending right-hander Jay Rainville (3-7, 3.50) to the mound.