Tampa 4, St. Lucie 1
St. Lucie’s offense struggled again in last night’s 4-1 loss against the Tampa Yankees. St Lucie only managed to scratch out five hits, four of which were only singles. The lone extra base hit was a home run in the bottom of the 4th by Dustin Lawley. It was the third time in the last four games that St Lucie failed to score more than one run.
Matt Bowman started for St. Lucie and yielded four runs and six hits in five innings pitched. Bowman allowed a solo home run in the 2nd inning to Dan Fiorito, and he struggled with his control in the 5th. Bowman gave up three runs and threw two wild pitches and hit one batter in the inning. Bowman was also hurt by his defense in the 5th. With the bases loaded and one out, Bowman induced a ground ball to the short stop but St. Lucie’s defense failed to execute the double play. Bowman’s record drops to 6-3 and he has a 2.70 ERA for St. Lucie.
The loss puts St. Lucie one game behind the Charlotte Stone Crabs for first place in the Southern Division. The Mets will play the final game of the series against Tampa tonight at 6:30. The pitching matchup will be Hansel Robles vs. Dietrich Enns.
Key Stats
Matthew Bowman: 5 IP, 4ER, 6H, 2BB, 3K
Dustin Lawley: 1-for-4, HR, RBI
Kevin Plawecki: 2-for-3
Randy Fontanez: 2IP, 0ER, 3K
Lucas Duda: 0-for-4