Jackson Jobe’s rehab outing was the headliner in Lakeland on Tuesday, and the Flying Tigers made sure the rest of the night belonged to their bats.
Lakeland rolled to a 15-6 win over Dunedin, with Jobe making his first appearance on a post-TJ rehab assignment and showing the kind of velocity that will grab attention right away. He hit 100 repeatedly in the first inning, though he also looked a little rusty and allowed a run on two hits.
Jobe got the first out of the second before coming out after reaching his pitch count. The early read was encouraging, and the assignment is expected to run about a month, with a possible return around the trade deadline if everything stays on track.
Marco Jimenez also continued his own comeback trail, working a scoreless third while sitting 95-96 mph, a bit below his usual top end.
Once the Tigers got past the rehab focus, they went straight to work at the plate. Edian Espinal kept doing what he’s done all year, drawing a walk to start the second inning and moving to third on Jude Warwick’s one-out double. Jesus Pinto then drove in Espinal and Warwick with a single to put Lakeland in front 2-1.
The game cracked open in the fifth. Beau Ankeney delivered an RBI single to score Pinto, Josue Briceño walked, Jordan Yost scored on a wild pitch, Espinal walked again, and the Blue Jays added a balk that brought in Ankeney. Carson Rucker capped the inning with a two-run single, and suddenly it was 7-2.
Lakeland wasn’t done. Nick Dumesnil walked and scored on an Anibal Salas double in the sixth, then the Tigers put together their biggest burst in the seventh.
Rucker walked, Warwick doubled again, Pinto singled in both runners, and Dumesnil and Salas followed with singles. Yost reached on an error, and then Ankeney crushed a three-run homer to left, his 12th of the season, pushing the lead to 15-3.
Pinto finished 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBIs, while Salas went 2-for-5 with a run, two RBIs and a double. Ankeney’s night was the loudest of all: an RBI single, a three-run blast, and a game that got out of hand in a hurry.
On the mound, lefty Grayson Grinsell worked 3.1 innings and allowed three runs, while Pedro Garcia gave up two more late.
Elsewhere in the system, the FCL Tigers blanked the FCL Phillies 8-0 behind a sharp outing from Jhonan Coba. The 19-year-old bounced back from a pair of rough starts, striking out three over four scoreless innings while allowing one hit and walking two. His four-seamer sat at 95 mph and touched a little over 97.
Johnathan Rogers followed with three no-hit innings and four strikeouts, and the offense did its part. Angel de los Santos had two hits and stayed hot, while Michael Oliveto added a hit and a walk and continues to look comfortable in pro ball even without much power showing up yet.
Back in the Florida State League, the Tigers’ numbers told the story clearly: a big night at the plate, a strong rehab checkpoint for Jobe, and another clean win for the organization’s lower-level club.
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