Dunedin Blue Jays Edge Flying Tigers 2-1 in a Pitchers’ Duel With No Breathing Room

Dunedin wins the hard way

The Dunedin Blue Jays went to Lakeland on Friday and came away with a 2-1 win over the Flying Tigers. Comfortable? Not remotely. This was a Florida State League pitching duel with the elbow room of a beach parking spot.

Dunedin collected 8 hits and left 14 runners on base. Lakeland had 6 hits and stranded 12. Plenty of traffic, very little movement toward home. If you like your baseball loaded with scoring chances and light on actual scoring, this was your evening.

For Pinellas fans watching from Dunedin, Clearwater, St Pete or the beaches, the argument practically writes itself: admire the pitching or complain about the runners left hanging? Both are allowed. Just give the pitchers their due before launching into the prosecution.

The Blue Jays got enough offense from Aldo Gaxiola and Jake Bennett, and enough room to work from Denis Samudio, to make the trip worthwhile. No fireworks required. A little breathing room would have been nice, though.

Gaxiola starts it, Bennett settles it

Dunedin opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd when Gaxiola’s sacrifice fly brought Juan Sanchez home for a 1-0 lead. Not every useful swing needs to threaten the outfield fence. Sometimes getting the run across is the whole job.

That advantage lasted until the bottom of the 5th, when Anibal Salas singled home Nick Dumesnil to pull Lakeland even at 1-1. With runs this scarce, the tying single carried some weight. Dunedin’s early lead was gone, and neither lineup had been making a convincing case for an offensive eruption.

Then came the 7th. Gaxiola reached base, and Bennett supplied the difference: a double on a ground ball to left field that scored Gaxiola and put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1.

That was the lead Dunedin kept. Bennett’s double did what so many other opportunities had failed to do: turn a runner into a run. In this game, that qualified as a major breakthrough.

Gaxiola finished 2-for-3 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He drove in Dunedin’s opening run and scored its winner. If you were looking for him in the important parts of this game, you didn’t have to look very hard.

Samudio keeps the tab manageable

Samudio gave Dunedin 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 5. That’s the backbone of this win, not a supporting detail.

When an offense keeps leaving runners behind, a pitcher has precious little margin for a rough inning. Samudio kept Lakeland to a single earned run through his outing, giving the Blue Jays time to find the swing that mattered.

Dunedin pitchers finished with 7 strikeouts; Lakeland pitchers recorded 11. The Flying Tigers could miss bats, too. They just couldn’t turn their own opportunities into enough runs.

Calling this an offensive efficiency clinic would require ignoring most of the evening. Dunedin wasted chances. Lakeland did, too. The distinction was that Bennett cashed in the decisive opportunity, and the Blue Jays protected it.

The tape

• Final: Dunedin Blue Jays 2, Lakeland Flying Tigers 1.
• Hits: Dunedin 8, Lakeland 6.
• Runners left on base: Dunedin 14, Lakeland 12.
• Pitching strikeouts: Dunedin 7, Lakeland 11.
• Denis Samudio: 6.0 innings, 5 hits allowed, 1 earned run, 5 strikeouts.
• Aldo Gaxiola: 2-for-3, 1 run scored, 1 RBI.
• Deciding hit: Jake Bennett’s RBI double in the 7th.

Bring this one to the tailgate

This is good material for the next Dunedin tailgate or the next baseball debate wherever you watch around Pinellas. Was it tidy? No. Was the pitching good enough to cover the unfinished business? Absolutely.

There’s no need to turn a narrow road win into a grand prediction. Dunedin won a close game because Samudio kept it manageable, Gaxiola contributed to both runs and Bennett delivered the deciding hit. That’s plenty.

The Blue Jays continue their road stint. Check the schedule for upcoming games, review the full game details, or find more Blue Jays coverage on our blog hub.

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