A wild night for the Stone Crabs pitching staff breathed life into the Mets, as St. Lucie took a 5-4 walk-off victory on Saturday at Digital Domain Park.
Four Charlotte pitchers combined to walk eight hitters, including three with the bases loaded in the loss. St. Lucie scored an additional run on a wild pitch as well. Only one of the five Mets runs was driven in with a hit, that coming on Richard Lucas' third inning homer.
Chris Rearick (2-1) took the loss after blowing his first save of the season. The Stone Crabs saw a pair of three-run leads slip away as the game moved into the late innings, with walks being the main culprit for the stagnant Mets offense eventually being able to win in dramatic fashion.
Charlotte had a three-run second inning rally that opened the scoring in the game. After Lucas connected for a third inning homer, the Stone Crabs answered with another run in the fifth. All 10 of the Stone Crabs hits were singles, while 10 men were stranded on base by night's end.
The Mets got their scoring starting in the fifth against Albert Suarez with three consecutive singles to open the inning. After Suarez issued the first of the three bases-loaded walks, he was lifted with one out and the bases still loaded in favor of T.J. Geith.
Geith induced a pop-up to record the second out, but followed that up with yet another walk that forced home the second run of the inning for St. Lucie.
After a pair of one-out walks in the eighth by Jimmy Patterson, manager Jim Morrison made the decision to go to Rearick with a 4-3 lead. Rearick retired the first man he faced, but then issued a walk to Wilfredo Tovar that loaded the bases for Alonso Harris.
Before Harris could even take the bat off his shoulders, a wild pitch allowed Rylan Sandoval to race home from third and tie the game 4-4.
The Mets half of the ninth inning was every bit as frustrating as the eighth inning before it. Robbie Shields lifted a liner to right that got over the head of Mikie Mahtook for a leadoff double. After a single by Darrell Ceciliani put runners on the corners with no outs, Charlotte opted to intentionally walk Wilmer Flores to load the bases.
That strategy backfired when Cory Vaughn worked a walk that allowed the Mets to complete the comeback and grab a 5-4 victory. It was the third and final bases-loaded walk of the game, and the final nail in the proverbial coffin.
Mets relievers combined for 4-1/3 shut-out innings after starter Angel Cuan was unable to make it through the fifth. The bullpen duo of Jack Leathersich and John Church (1-2) held the Stone Crabs offense scoreless on just one hit and one walk, combining for five strikeouts.
Brett Nomensen enjoyed a three-hit night that included an RBI, while Mahtook had two hits and drove home a run as well. Alejandro Torres chipped in a pair of run-scoring singles as well.
Charlotte (22-25) has now dropped four games in a row and eight consecutive to the St. Lucie in the season series. The club also dropped to three games below the .500 mark with their last at-bat defeat.
Saturday's victory allowed the Mets (38-11) to add yet another win to the best record in the Florida State League. It also trimmed St. Lucie's magic number to clinch the first half division title down to nine games.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon as the Stone Crabs send lefty Braulio Lara to the mound as they attempt to salvage the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
team press release
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