The Palm Beach Cardinals lost 8-1 to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on Aug. 20 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The game began after a one-hour, 17-minute delay. Fort Myers broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run fifth inning and added four more runs before the final out.
Palm Beach entered the game with a 25-26 record in the current split and a 58-59 overall record. Fort Myers entered at 26-24 in the split and 63-52 overall. Isaiah Lane gave the Mighty Mussels a 1-0 lead with his first professional home run in the top of the second inning.
Fort Myers Breaks Open Tie
Palm Beach starting pitcher Gabriel Chinchilla pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowed one run and struck out seven batters. Chinchilla had also struck out seven batters at Fort Myers on July 31. The performance kept Palm Beach within one run through the early innings.
Palm Beach tied the game in the fourth inning. Travis Honeyman was hit by a pitch during his second rehab appearance from Double-A Springfield, and Trevor Condon followed with a single. Sebastian Dos Santos then hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-1 after four innings.
Fort Myers regained the lead in the fifth inning against Palm Beach relief pitcher Alan Reyes. Bryce Fowler singled and Hideki Prather reached on an error before Merphy Hernandez hit a three-run home run to put the Mighty Mussels ahead 4-1. Reyes left the game with an apparent injury with two outs in the sixth inning and was charged with the loss, recording an 0-1 record.
JR Fordham entered from the Palm Beach bullpen and finished with a career-high five strikeouts. Fort Myers loaded the bases with two singles and a hit-by-pitch before Merphy Hernandez delivered a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1. Fordham retired six consecutive Fort Myers batters before leaving with two outs in the eighth inning.
Mighty Mussels Add Two Runs in Eighth
Fort Myers relief pitcher Jake Covey earned the win and kept Palm Beach off the scoreboard during his three innings. Covey pitched three scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out five batters. He recorded a 3-0 record.
Fort Myers added two runs in the eighth inning. Isaiah Lane hit an RBI single, and another run scored on a throwing error to give the Mighty Mussels an 8-1 lead. Hendry Chivilli set Palm Beach down in order in the eighth inning and faced the minimum in the ninth.
Condon recorded two of Palm Beach’s three hits in his second professional game. He is 4-for-8 to begin his professional career. The result gave Fort Myers the victory in the Florida State League matchup.
The Palm Beach Cardinals and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are scheduled to play Game 4 of the six-game series on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Source: Original report