St. Lucie 6, Jupiter 3
With their chance for a berth in the Florida State League playoffs officially dashed after a loss Thursday, the St. Lucie Mets shifted their focus to finishing with a winning record in the second half. They assured themselves of that goal following a 6-3 win at Jupiter on Friday night, partly avenging the 12-3 rout they absorbed the night before that sealed their elimination from postseason consideration.
St. Lucie, which has won four of its past five games, improved to 33-30 during the second half and can finish no worse than tied for third place in the South Division. The club’s current record includes a 12-19 mark on the road in the second half, a win total that will rank as the lowest among the six teams in the highly competitive division.
As has been the case throughout the season, the Mets’ fate was determined by the effectiveness of their pitching. Fresh face Octavio Acosta turned in a fine performance, pitching into the seventh inning and allowing three runs on five hits in his second start with the club. He finished with seven strikeouts and one walk to earn the win and bounce back from a wild showing in his Class A debut following his promotion from the Gulf Coast League (five walks in three innings).
Kevin Plawecki, who made an appearance at first base for the first time in five games, and outfielder Charley Thurber each tallied two doubles and combined for three RBI to pace the offense. Plawecki went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored before leaving in the seventh inning after being hit by a pitch in the head, according to ESPN.com. He could miss the final two games of the season.
Shortstop Matt Reynolds and catcher Cam Maron — the Nos. 7 and 8 hitters in the lineup, respectively — also went 2-for-4 as the Mets sprayed 11 hits in the game. St. Lucie did not have a batter with multiple hits during their loss Thursday.
After letting the Hammerheads tie the score on two separate occasions in the second and fourth innings, the Mets took the lead for good with a run in the sixth and plated two more for insurance in the eighth. The Mets bullpen was again stellar, as Randy Fontanez and T.J. Chism did not permit a baserunner over the final 2.2 innings. For Chism, the outing landed him his 20th save of the season, surpassing his total from last year with Low-A Savannah (19).
The Mets conclude their season at Tradition Field with a two-game set vs. the Hammerheads beginning on Saturday. Domingo Tapia (2-9, 4.86 ERA) is slated to take the hill in the opener against Jupiter’s Jake Esch (2-9, 4.01).
Key Statistics
Kevin Plawecki: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 2B 1 RBI
Jayce Boyd: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 1 SB
Charley Thurber: 2-for-5, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Matt Reynolds: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Cam Maron: 2-for-4, 1 RBI
Gilbert Gomez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
Octavio Acosta: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 R, 7 K
Randy Fontanez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 1 K
T.J. Chism: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 1 K