Mets End Home Stand with 4-2 Win vs. Lakeland
April 23, 2023 - Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The St. Lucie Mets ended their six-game home stand on a high note, beating the Lakeland Flying Tigers 4-2 at Clover Park on Sunday afternoon.
Four Mets pitchers combined to limit Lakeland to three hits. Layonel Ovalles served as the opener and pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. Saul Garcia took over in the second and fired off 4.0 scoreless innings. He allowed a bloop single to the first batter he faced then did not give up another hit.
Garcia struck out four and did not walk a batter. He was credited with the win in his home debut.
The Mets offense scored all of its runs on two-out hits. Kevin Villavicencio opened the scoring with a flare single to right field that scored Vincent Perozo in the third inning. Junior Tilien wacked the next pitch into center field to bring home Rhylan Thomas for a 2-0 lead. The damage was done against Lakeland starter Carlos Marcano, who suffered the loss.
The Mets got back-to-back two-out RBI singles from Perozo and Dyron Campos in the sixth inning to open up a 4-0 lead.
The Flying Tigers loaded the bases off Jimmy Loper with no outs in the eighth inning. Elliot Johnstone came in from the bullpen and retired all three batters he faced to keep the lead. The Flying Tigers scored on a sac fly and a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
Johnstone worked around a two-out single in the ninth to get his second save of the season.
The Mets snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Mets (5-10) are off on Monday. They return to the diamond on Tuesday when they start a six-game road series at the Clearwater Threshers. First pitch from BayCare Ballpark on Tuesday is 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard on the St. Lucie Mets Baseball Network at stluciemets.com.
Florida State League Stories from April 23, 2023
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