5/28/11

St. Lucie 4, Dunedin 2

The St. Lucie Mets made it two in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays Friday night at Digital Domain Park. The 4-2 win puts the Mets at 28-21 on the season and are now a half game ahead of the Ft. Myers Miracle for first place in the FSL South Division.



Matt Harvey got the start for the Mets and received instant offense early in the game. Stefan Welch singled in Matt den Dekker with the first run of the game giving the Mets a 1-0 lead after the first inning of play. Den Dekker singled in Cesar Puello in the second inning making it a 2-0 lead for the Mets. Den Dekker would score in the fourth inning on a fielding error giving the Mets all the run support they would need for Harvey.



Harvey was lights out tossing seven shutout innings allowing only three hits while striking out ten batters en route to his sixth win of the season. Estarlin Morel and Jeff Kaplan accounted for the eighth and ninth innings respectively each allowing a run but holding on for the win. Kaplan danced around trouble in the ninth getting the final out with runners on second and third base. It was Kaplan’s ninth save of the season.


Stefan Welch had three hits on the night for the Mets including his team leading sixth home run of the season. Welch drove in a pair and scored once to lead the Mets offensively. den Dekker had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run in the win. Harvey improves to 6-2 on the season. His six wins ties him for the FSL lead with Daytona Cubs pitcher Nick Struck.

The Mets continue their series with the Dunedin Blue Jays Saturday night at Digital Domain Park. Armando Rodriguez is listed as the probable starter for St. Lucie. This will be Rodriguez’s first appearance of the season as he has been sidelined with an injury to this point of the year. Rodriguez received an invite to New York Mets Spring Training this season before landing on the disabled list. Last year for the Savannah Sand Gnats, Rodriguez finished with an 8-9 record and an ERA of 3.08 in 27 starts. He struck out 152 while walking 46 with opposing batters hitting .214 against him in 146 innings of work.

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