Mets' Comeback Bid Falls Short in 8-6 Loss to Cardinals
May 16, 2023 - Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Palm Beach Cardinals raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first three innings and held on to beat the St. Lucie Mets 8-6 in the series opener at Clover Park on Tuesday night.
Michael Curialle and Leonardo Bernal registered back-to-back run scoring hits off Mets starter Felipe De La Cruz in the first inning for a 2-0 Palm Beach lead.
Chris Rotondo ripped a RBI single and Alex Iadisernia followed with a two-run homer in the second inning to put the Cardinals up 5-0.
Darlin Moquete and Joshua Baez tagged De La Cruz for solo home runs in the third inning and it was 7-0 Cardinals before the Mets recorded a hit.
The Mets started their comeback in the bottom of the third when Carlos Dominguez and Jett Williams hit consecutive RBI singles against Palm Beach starter Max Rajcic to cut the deficit to 7-2.
Wilfredo Lara launched a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the seventh inning to make it 7-4.
Vincent Perozo bashed a RBI double and Blaine McIntosh laced a RBI single in the eighth inning to bring the Mets within one, 7-6.
The Cardinals got a crucial insurance run with two outs in the top of the ninth. R.J. Yeager crushed triple and the relay throw escaped second baseman Junior Tilien, allowing Yeager to score for an 8-6 Palm Beach lead.
Cardinals reliever Edwin Nunez completed the six-out save when he struck out Tilien as the tying run to end the game.
De La Cruz took the loss, giving up seven runs and seven hits in 3.0 innings.
Mets reliever Christopher Vasquez kept the Mets in the game by blanking the Cardinals over 4.0 innings. He allowed just one single and struck out four.
Rajcic got the win. He limited the Mets to two runs over 5.0 innings.
Seven of the Mets nine batters recorded a hit. McIntosh went 2 for 4.
Iadisernia, Yeager and Curialle had two hits apiece for the Cardinals.
Palm Beach has won 11 of its last 14 while St. Lucie has lost six in a row.
The Mets (8-26) and Cardinals (21-13) play the second game of their series at Clover Park on Wednesday. First pitch is 6:10 p.m.
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