The St. Lucie Mets won a season-high seventh straight game by edging the Jupiter Hammerheads 2-1on Friday at Tradition Field.
With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, the Mets played perfect fundamental baseball to take the lead. Maikis De La Cruz started the frame with a single off of Miguel Fermin. Eudy Pina followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs.
Gilbert Gomez dropped a sac bunt to move De La Cruz to third with one out, then Phillip Evans drove the first pitch he saw from Fermin deep to center for a sac fly that plated De La Cruz to break the tie.
T.J. Chism worked a perfect ninth to record his second save in three days.
The Mets improved to 51-32 overall this season and 11-3 in the second half. They have won 16 of their last 19 games.
The game unfolded as a pitchers duel between Mets starter Domingo Tapia and Hammerheads starter Jake Esch. The game remained scoreless until Esch hung a 1-2 breaking ball to De La Cruz in the fifth. De La Cruz lined it over the wall in left for his fourth homer of the season to put the Mets up 1-0.
Tapia cruised right along, retiring 11 in a row at one point and 15 out of 16. He ran into trouble in the seventh when Matt Juengel led off with a single. Tapia bounced back to get the next two batters, but Josh Adams singled to move Juengel into scoring position. No. 9 hitter Ryan Goetz came up and tied the game 1-1 with a single that plated Juengel.
Beck Wheeler, activated off the disabled list earlier in the day, came on to face Major League rehabber Adeiny Hechavarria with the tying run at third base. Wheeler won an eight-pitch battle by getting Hechavarria to ground out to third.
Wheeler pitched around a two out walk and wild pitch in the eighth to earn the win.
Tapia went 6 2/3 innings and gave up one run and six hits. He struck out three and walked one.
Esch went seven innings and struck out six. The one run he allowed was De La Cruz’s homer.
Fermin took the loss.
Two of the Mets’ six hits came from De La Cruz.
Goetz and Juengel had two-hit games for Jupiter. - team press release
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