After another game was scrapped by rain the previous night, the St. Lucie Mets seemed to be in a haste to score runs during the opener of their doubleheader Tuesday at Daytona. The Cubs employed the same tactic in the nightcap to prevent the Mets from securing a sweep in the twinbill.
St. Lucie plated five runs in the first and starter Rainy Lara pitched into the sixth inning as the Mets held on for a 5-3 victory in the first game. In the nightcap, Domingo Tapia failed to get out of the first — the second straight start he’s managed fewer than two innings of work — as the visitors fell 7-0. Both contests were shortened to seven innings to accommodate the doubleheader.
Despite being out-hit 6-5 in the opener, St. Lucie jumped on starting pitcher Zach Cates early, sending 11 batters to the plate during the first inning and reaching base four times on walks. Second baseman T.J. Rivera finished 2-for-4 with a run scored to push his hitting streak to 14 games. However, the impressive run came to an end after an 0-for-3 performance in the second game.
Outfielder Cory Vaughn, who was playing his first game with the Mets while he rehabs an elbow strain that has kept him out since early June, notched the club’s only extra-base hit with a triple in the second inning. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base, but did not play in the nightcap.
Staked with an early advantage, Lara (4-3) cruised through 5.1 innings and allowed three runs — two earned — on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. His ERA grew slightly to 2.92 on the season. Reliever Hamilton Bennett held the Cubs scoreless over the final 1.2 innings to collect his eighth save of the year.
Tapia (2-6) was unable to duplicate the winning performance by Lara and was charged with three runs on just two hits in 2/3 of an inning. He walked four of the seven batters he faced and failed to record a strikeout for the second time in 17 starts this season. St. Lucie used three relievers after Tapia departed, including Angel Cuan who hurled 2.1 innings and yielded just one hit.
Offensively, the Mets stalled and were blanked for the sixth time this season. Outfielder Dustin Lawley was the only batter to reach base twice, finishing 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Kyle Johnson, Jayce Boyd and Gilbert Gomez were the only other players to record a hit in the second game.
St. Lucie wraps up the four-game series at Daytona with a matinee matchup Wednesday afternoon. Hansel Robles (4-2, 4.04) is slated to take the mound for the Mets. The team then travels to Lakeland for a four-game set against the Flying Tigers.
Key Stats (combined for doubleheader)
Kyle Johnson: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 BB
T.J. Rivera: 2-for-7, 1 R
Jayce Boyd: 1-for-6, 1 R, 1 BB
Dustin Lawley: 1-for-5, 2 BB, 1 RBI, 1 2B
Cory Vaughn: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 3B, 1 SB
Kevin Plawecki: 1-for-6, 1 R, 1 RBI
Rainy Lara: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K
Hamilton Bennett:1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 0 K
Angel Cuan: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 0 K