DeWitt cracks 17th homer

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Vero Beach Dodgers cracked four home runs to defeat the Ft. Myers Miracle 8-2 Wednesday night at Holman Stadium.

Alberto Bastardo turned in 6 1/3 solid innings for the win and the Dodgers won back-to-back games for the first time since July 14-15.

The 8-2 win was the Dodgers largest margin of victory in the 2nd Half of the season and it began early. With two outs in the first inning, Cory Dunlap hit a towering shot to right-center for his 12th home run. Xavier Paul smashed his 12th homer in the third inning for a 2-0 lead.

Vero Beach began to pull away from starter Josh Hill (6-3) in the fifth.

Jamie Hoffmann drew a one-out walk and took two bases on a wild pitch.

Paul singled to center to bring him in and Blake DeWitt followed with his team-high 17th home run for a 5-0 advantage.

Juan Apodaca would add his first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth to give the Dodgers a six-run lead. Bastardo (4-5) consistently worked out of jams to keep the lead.

Ft. Myers stranded at least one baserunner in six of the seven innings against Bastardo. They did not score until Brandon Roberts pulled a 2-run homer to right field in the seventh. Wesley Wright then pitched the final 2 2/3 without allowing a run.

The Dodgers put the finishing touches on the win in the eighth. Sergio Pedroza led off with a walk and Adolfo Gonzalez doubled him home. David Nicholson bounced a base hit to center that plated Gonzalez for the final tally of 8-2.