St. Lucie 9, Clearwater 4
With a framework that doesn’t contain many weaknesses, St. Lucie Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard has found it difficult to maneuver the middle innings of games lately. Syndergaard cruised through the first five innings during Monday’s series opener at Clearwater before stumbling late in the game, but was boosted by a resurgent Mets offense in a 9-4 victory.
The revered right-hander surrendered just one run before hitting a wall in the fifth inning when he was tagged for a two-run homer by Threshers outfielder Kelly Dugan — one of two he permitted in the game and just his third allowed in 12 starts this season. Syndergaard (3-3) was replaced by Jim Fuller in the seventh inning after allowing the only two batters he faced to reach base, including one on his lone walk of the contest. He was charged with four runs on six hits as his ERA spilled to 3.11, although he did record his first win since May 9th.
Since a rain delay cut short his outing against Jupiter on May 28th, the Texas native has failed to complete more than six innings in either of his last two starts while giving up six runs and 12 hits combined. Five of those runs have come in the fifth inning or later. However, he continues to flash overpowering stuff and retired 13 consecutive batters after Clearwater plated its first run in the second inning. He finished with five strikeouts — all swinging — for the second game in a row.
Syndergaard, the only St. Lucie pitcher selected to the Florida State League All-Star Game, was spotted a four-run cushion before even stepping on the mound Monday. It was just the second time in their past seven games the Mets plated more than two runs as they moved back into second place in the South Division.
St. Lucie batted around in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run triple from shortstop T.J. Rivera — his first extra-base hit this season that wasn’t a double. He finished 2-for-3 with two walks and scored twice to lift his batting average to .287. Four other Mets players collected two hits, including outfielder Gilbert Gomez, who had only his fifth multi-hit performance since the start of May. Designated hitter Charley Thurber went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI; he has now posted five hits over his past two games.
St. Lucie (32-29), which has already been eliminated from claiming the first-half division title, continues the series against Clearwater on Tuesday with Alex Panteliodis (2-2, 3.06) scheduled to take the hill. In his previous outing last Tuesday against Lakeland, the left-hander was hammered for five runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings. He has failed to complete at least six innings in his past three starts.
Key Stats
T.J. Rivera: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI
Aderlin Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI
Charley Thurber: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI
Albert Cordero: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Gilbert Gomez: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
Noah Syndergaard: 6+ IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 ER, 5 K