Mets Continue Mound Dominance, Blank Cardinals 3-0
May 29, 2025 - Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - St. Lucie pitchers Channing Austin and Ernesto Mercedes combined to pitch the Mets' first nine-inning shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals on Thursday night at Clover Park.
The Mets previously pitched a rain-shortened shutout in an 8-0 win against Jupiter in five innings on Saturday. With Thursday's victory, the Mets improved to a season-best six games over .500 (27-21). They continue to lead the FSL East division by 4.0 games over the Jupiter Hammerheads with 18 games left in the first half.
Austin pitched 5.0 innings, scattering four singles. He walked the first batter of the game and then induced a 5-4-3 double play, which started a streak of retiring 10 batters in a row. Austin struck out four.
Mercedes was dominant over the final 4.0 innings to pick up the save. Mercedes faced one batter over the minimum. The Cardinals mustered just one walk and one single against Mercedes. Mercedes erased the walk on a double play ball in the seventh. He struck out three and retired the final eight batters he faced.
The Mets offense produced two runs off Palm Beach starter Leonel Sequera on the first three pitches of the third inning. Nick Roselli dropped down a leadoff bunt single. Willy Fanas roped the next pitch into right field for a single. Jeremy Rodriguez yanked the following pitch deep to right field for a two-run triple that made it 2-0. Two batters later Colin Houck hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Rodriguez for a 3-0 lead.
Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with the triple, a single and two RBI. Houck was for 1 for 3 with a triple, walk and RBI. Fanas went 2 for 3 from the ninth spot.
The game was played in 1 hour and 57 minutes. It was the fastest game of the year for the Mets by 26 minutes.
Mets pitching has allowed just two earned runs (four total runs) in the first 27 innings of the series. The Mets won all three games of the six-game series played at Clover Park. Now the series against the Cardinals (22-26) shifts to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter for the final three contests. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Florida State League Stories from May 29, 2025
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- Mets Continue Mound Dominance, Blank Cardinals 3-0 - St. Lucie Mets
- Jupiter Earns First Sweep of 2025 with 4-2 Win over Daytona Thursday Night - Jupiter Hammerheads
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- Hammerheads Win 11-10 in 14 Innings against the Tortugas Wednesday Night - Jupiter Hammerheads
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