Baseball Game Preview: Melbourne Bulldogs vs. Eau Gallie Commodores

Melbourne is 2-8 against Eau Gallie since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Bulldogs are taking a road trip to take on the Commodores at 6:00 p.m. Melbourne's pitching crew has only allowed 4.1 runs per game this season, so Eau Gallie's hitters will have their work cut out for them.

The home team had come away the winner the last four times Melbourne and Astronaut had met, but sadly for the fans who attended this one that wasn't the case. The Bulldogs walked away with a 4-1 win over the War Eagles on Wednesday.

Collin Heaney looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. What's more, he posted two strikeouts, the most he's had since back in March.

At the plate, Melbourne saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Bryson Ayala, who went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Eau Gallie, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Wednesday. They won by a run and slipped past St. Mary's 4-3.

Eau Gallie also got a great performance from Chase McBrearty as he struck out seven batters over 5.2 innings while giving up three earned runs off three hits (and only one walk). McBrearty has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances.

Eau Gallie has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-6 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.1 runs on average over those games. As for Melbourne, their record now sits at 15-7.

Melbourne might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Eau Gallie in their previous meeting two weeks ago. Can the Bulldogs avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.