Mets Plate Three in Eighth, Beat Miracle 6-3
Published on April 12, 2014 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release
ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 11, 2014) - The St. Lucie Mets scored three runs in the eighth ining to beat the Fort Myers Miracle, 6-3, in the series opener on Friday night at Tradition Field.
With the game tied 3-3, the Mets got a single from Aderlin Rodriguez on Matt Tomshaw to lead off the eighth inning. After a strikeout of T.J. Rivera, a Tomshaw (0-1) wild pitch moved Rodriguez into scoring position. Then, Mets' catcher Cam Maron hit a line drive under the diving glove of Levi Michael at second base to score Rodriguez and give St. Lucie a 4-3 lead. The Mets would add two more insurance runs in the eighth including a sacrifice fly from Maikis De La Cruz.
The Mets began the scoring in the first inning off Miracle starter Brett Lee. Dilson Herrera led off with a double and a passed ball. Then, Brandon Nimmo sent a 1-0 pitch into center field to bring Herrera home and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Fort Myers answered with a pair of runs. With two outs and the bases loaded, Niko Goodrum delivered a two-run single into center field off Mets' starter Steven Matz to give the Miracle a one-run lead.
Goodrum finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and is now hitting .400 after the first eight games.
Then, in the fifth, the Miracle scored without the benefit of a hit. Jonathan Murphy reached first on a fielding error by second baseman T.J. Rivera. After bobbling the grounder, Rivera then tossed the ball into Miracle dugout allowing Murphy to advance to second. A.J. Pettersen laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Murphy to third.
Matz then retired Levi Michael for the second out, but walked Jorge Polanco. With runners at the corners, Matz tossed a checking throw to first. Murphy broke for home and beat a throw by Jairo Perez. Murphy's steal of home gave the Miracle a 3-1 lead.
St. Lucie tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a couple of runs scored off Lee. Nimmo picked up his second RBI base hit of the night and then scored moments later on an error by Goodrum at third base. A grounder of the bat of Jairo Perez spun off the tip of Goodrum's glove and into center field while Nimmo raced home.
Lee received a no decision, but turned in a quality start with six innings pitched. Lee scattered eight hits and allowed three runs, two earned. Matz also received a no decision for St. Luce and went six innings with three runs allowed, two earned, while strikeout out six.
Bret Mitchell moved to 1-0 with two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Randy Fontanez picked up his first save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Miracle (6-2) return to Tradition Field on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. for game two of the series against the Mets (4-4). Fans can listen to the play-by-play call with the 'Voice of the Miracle' Brice Zimmerman beginning at 6:05 p.m. with the Head Quarters Men's Haircuts pregame show on www.miraclebaseball.com.
Florida State League Stories from April 12, 2014
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