Baseball Game Preview: Manatee Hurricanes vs. Sarasota Sailors

Manatee hasn't had much luck against Sarasota recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Manatee Hurricanes will look to defend their home field against the Sarasota Sailors at 7:00 p.m. Manatee will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak.

Last Saturday, Manatee was able to grind out a solid win over Bartow, taking the game 9-4.

Malachi Cleto looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run any time he's pitched this season.

On the hitting side, Ashton Hovda was incredible, scoring three runs and stealing a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. That's the most runs he has posted since back in February of 2024. Nick Zunica was another key player, going 1-for-2 with four RBI.

Meanwhile, Sarasota unfortunately witnessed the end of their three-game winning streak on Monday. They fell just short of Venice by a score of 4-3.

Hamlet Perez was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he didn't allow a single earned run over 6.1 innings pitched.

At the plate, Sarasota saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jorge Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Manatee pushed their record up to 5-2 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Sarasota, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-3-1.

The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Manatee has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 4.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Sarasota struggles in that department as they've been averaging 4.7 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.