St. Lucie 11, Clearwater 3
The Clearwater Threshers were routed 11-3 Saturday night by the St. Lucie Mets in front of 543 fans at Tradition Field.
The Threshers (18-22, 53-56) wasted a bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the second and got only one more hit the rest of the way, failing to keep pace with the high-powered offense of their hosts. The Mets (23-16, 60-46) won their third straight game and have now outscored the Threshers 15-3 through the first two games of the series.
St. Lucie broke the game open in the bottom of the first against Threshers starter Ethan Stewart. Leadoff man Kyle Johnson reached on an error by shortstop Jonathan Roof, and moved to second when Stewart walked T.J. Rivera. With rehabbing MLB veteran Lucas Duda at the plate, Johnson stole third, and came home to score when catcher Logan Moore‘s throw went into left field; Rivera moved up to second on the miscue. Duda singled Rivera to third, and Stewart hit Kevin Plawecki with a pitch with two outs to load the bases. Jayce Boyd drew a walk to bring in a run, and Cam Maron singled home another to make it 3-0 in favor of the Mets.
The Threshers struck back in the top of the second inning. Right fielder Cameron Perkins led off with a single up the middle, and advanced to second when designated hitter Brock Stassi drew a walk from Mets starter Michael Fulmer (1-2). Roof smacked a double to right field to plate Perkins and send Stassi to third base. When Fulmer fired a wild pitch, Stassi scored and Roof sped to third. After third baseman Harold Martinez drew a walk, Moore lofted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Roof and evening the game up at 3-3. The lights at Tradition Field went out, and a lengthy delay ensued; once play resumed, the Threshers loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t bring home any more runs.
St. Lucie busted the game open in the third and fourth innings. A bases-loaded single by Maron and an RBI knock from Matt Reynolds brought home three in the third frame against Threshers reliever Steven Inch (4-1), who gave up three more tallies in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Plawecki and a two-run single by Boyd to make it 9-3 Mets.
The Mets extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth against Threshers reliever Jordan Guth. With Johnson on third and two outs, Dustin Lawley lashed a single to score the speedy outfielder and put the Mets up 10-3. St. Lucie added another in the bottom of the sixth when Boyd tagged up from third on a one-out fly ball that turned into a double play when Matt Reynolds was doubled off first. Nonetheless, the run counted by rule, and the Mets assumed an 11-3 advantage.
Stewart took a no-decision, with three unearned runs allowed on two hits and two walks in his only inning of work. He fanned one and hit a batter. Inch took the loss as he coughed up six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks, whiffing one. Guth gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in 2.1 innings pitched; he threw a wild pitch. Ken Giles threw a perfect seventh inning with one strikeout, and Stassi pitched in with a scoreless frame of relief, walking one.
Fulmer got the win, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks over six innings; he hit a batter and struck out four. Angel Cuan twirled two scoreless innings of relief, whiffing two against one hit and one walk allowed. T.J. Chism racked up two strikeouts in a spotless ninth inning.
Clearwater will try to get back in the win column Sunday afternoon, with southpaw Hoby Milner getting the start for the Threshers against Mets righty Rainy Lara.
Key Stats
Kevin Plawecki: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 R
Jayce Boyd: 1-for-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI, 2 R
Cam Maron: 3-for-5, 3 RBI
Kyle Johnson: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 2 R
T.J. Rivera: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 R
Michael Fulmer: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 ER, 4 K
Angel Cuan: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 2 K
(Team Report)