Friend, Moon Lead Another Comeback as Tortugas Top Mets, 8-6
FSL Daytona Tortugas

Friend, Moon Lead Another Comeback as Tortugas Top Mets, 8-6

Published on April 17, 2026 under Florida State League (FSL)
Daytona Tortugas News Release


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Jacob Friend and Bernard Moon kept Daytona's offense rolling Thursday night as the Tortugas came from behind again to beat the St. Lucie Mets, 8-6, at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. The win moved Daytona to 5-7 overall, 3-3 at home, and gave the club back-to-back wins for the second time this season.

The Rundown

St. Lucie struck first in the opening inning.

After Randy Guzman was hit by a pitch and Julio Zayas followed with a single, AJ Salgado lined a two-run double to left to put the Mets ahead 2-0. Daytona answered in the bottom half when Friend walked, Moon doubled him to third, and Tyson Lewis brought home the first Tortugas run with a groundout.

The Mets added another run in the second on a solo homer by JT Benson, but Daytona responded again in the bottom half. Mason Neville reached on an error, Ichiro Cano walked, and Kyle Henley lined an RBI single to right to trim the deficit to 3-2.

After St. Lucie pushed the lead to 4-2 in the fifth on Guzman's solo homer, Daytona flipped the game in the bottom of the inning. Henley singled, Friend followed with a ground-rule double, and Moon drove in a run. Later in the frame, Lewis lifted a sacrifice fly and Moon scored on a groundout to tie the game at four.

The decisive inning came in the sixth.

With one out, Drew Davies singled and Neville walked, with Cano also reaching to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home Davies to give Daytona the lead, then Friend ripped a two-run double to right to extend the advantage. Moments later, Moon followed with an RBI double to cap the four-run inning as the Tortugas turned a 4-4 game into an 8-4 lead.

Daytona's bullpen took control from there.

Lisnerkin Lantigua delivered 4.0 strong innings in relief, allowing just one run on a solo homer while limiting further damage and keeping the Mets off the board across the middle innings.

St. Lucie scored twice in the ninth on a two-run homer from Branny De Oleo, but Daytona's bullpen held on to finish it off.

Stat of the Game

6 - Moon recorded his fifth and sixth doubles of the season, he now leads all of Single-A in two-base-hits.

Notes

- Daytona improves to 5-7 on the season and 3-3 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

- The Tortugas have won back-to-back games for the second time this season.

- Daytona has scored 25 runs over the last two games after being shut out for 14 straight innings to begin the series.

- Friend went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI, three runs scored, and a walk. He now leads the Florida State League in OPS (1.256), slugging (.806), runs (11), extra-base hits (9), and triples (2).

- Moon went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. He leads all of Single-A with six doubles and ranks second in the Florida State League in both hits (14) and RBI (11).

- Henley finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and remains the Florida State League leader in stolen bases with nine.

- Edgar Colon allowed three runs over 4.0 innings, while Lisnerkin Lantigua earned the win with 4.0 innings of relief.

- Daytona has scored at least eight runs in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

- The Tortugas have recorded 22 hits over their last two games.

Next Up

Daytona continues its series against St. Lucie on Friday, April 17th at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET.

Check out the Daytona Tortugas Statistics

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Florida State League Stories from April 17, 2026


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