Mets' Rally Falls Short in 9-5 Loss to Bradenton
August 6, 2024 - Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Bradenton Marauders snapped a five-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the St. Lucie Mets in the series opener at Clover Park on Tuesday night. Bradenton improved to 7-0 against St. Lucie this season.
Walks and errors were an issue for the Mets. Mets starter Wellington Aracena issued six free passes in his 2.0 innings of work. Reliever Cristofer Gomez walked three batters in a row with two outs in the ninth inning and surrendered bases-clearing double to Justin Miknis that turned a 6-5 Marauders lead into a 9-5 advantage. The Mets committed four errors, including one in the first inning that led to two unearned runs.
Down 5-0 after two innings, the Mets scrambled back by scoring three runs off Bradenton starter Zander Mueth in the third inning. A.J. Ewing and Colin Houck worked walks with bases loaded. Boston Baro scored on a wild pitch by Inmer Lobo to make it 5-3.
Esmerlyn Valdez hit a leadoff homer against Brayhans Barreto in the seventh inning to increase the Bradenton lead to 6-3.
The Mets scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Ronald Hernandez and Houck hit RBI singles to make it 6-5. However, Bradenton reliever Carlos Castillo induced an inning-ending double play from Yohairo Cuevas to strand Hernandez at third base as the tying run.
The game appeared to be heading for a dramatic bottom of the ninth when Gomez retired the first two batters of the top of the inning. But the three consecutive walks and a Miknis double provided the Marauders plenty of insurance.
Hernandez went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles, walk and RBI.
Relievers Franklin Gomez, Austin Troesser, Barreto and Wilson Lopez combined for 6.0 innings of one-run relief.
The Mets (12-23, 34-67) and Marauders (13-24, 42-61) play the second game of their series at Clover Park on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
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