Mets Win 7th Straight, Finish First Half .500
Published on June 18, 2026 under Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release
St. Lucie Mets pitcher Joel Lara
(St. Lucie Mets)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The St. Lucie Mets won their seventh consecutive game on Thursday, beating the Daytona Tortugas 8-5 at Clover Park. The Mets finished the first half of the Florida State League season with a .500 record at 33-33. They were nine games under .500 as of May 15th.
The Mets were powered by a six-run second inning and the right arm of starter Joel Lara. Lara pitched 4.0 no-hit innings. He struck out seven. The only Tortuga to reach base against him was Ty Doucette, who worked a two-out walk in the fourth inning to snap a streak of 11 in a row retired to start the game. Lara rebounded to strike out the next batter to end his night.
The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Antonio Jimenez hit a RBI double to bring home Elian Peña.
The Mets broke the game open with the six-run second inning against the Tortugas starter Dusty Revis. Jeremy Rodriguez hit a RBI single for a 2-0 lead. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs but Revis retired the next two hitters to give himself a chance to escape down just two runs. However, Revis walked Chase Meggers to force in a run then balked home Peña to make it 4-0. Brady Afthim replaced Revis and was greeted by a Simon Juan three-run double that opened up a 7-0 lead.
The Tortugas made a late push, scoring five runs off four different Mets relievers over the final five innings. Tyson Lewis and Kyle Henley hit back-to-back RBI doubles with two outs in the ninth to make it 8-5. Ernesto Mercedes was able to get Doucette to fly out to strand the tying run on deck and end the game.
Luis Alvarez followed Lara on the mound and got the win. He limited the Tortugas to one solo home run by Ichiro Cano over his two innings.
New York Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio began a MLB rehab assignment and went 1 for 3 with a single and run while playing five innings at shortstop.
For the third straight game eight of the nine batters in the Mets starting lineup recorded a hit and all nine starters reached base.
The Mets (33-33) and Tortugas (21-45) play the fourth game of their series at Clover Park on Friday. First pitch is 6:10 p.m. It will mark the first day of the second half.
Military Appreciation Weekend continues of Friday with all veterans and active duty military receiving free admission courtesy of LYNQ Real Estate. Kids can run the bases after the game.
Images from this story
 St. Lucie Mets pitcher Joel Lara |
Florida State League Stories from June 18, 2026
- Late Rally Falls Short as Tortugas Drop First-Half Finale - Daytona Tortugas
- Rynders and Iredale Homer Again, Marauders Drop Five-Run Lead - Bradenton Marauders
- Jupiter Beats Palm Beach 9-8 in Thursday Night Thriller - Jupiter Hammerheads
- Late Surge Completes Comeback for Clearwater - Clearwater Threshers
- Mets Win 7th Straight, Finish First Half .500 - St. Lucie Mets
- Six-Run Fourth Spurs Lakeland to 11-3 Victory over Dunedin - Lakeland Flying Tigers
- Tampa Closes First Half with 16-5 Loss to Fort Myers - Tampa Tarpons
- Fort Myers Ends First Half with Blowout of Tampa - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
- Parker Homers, Drives in All Three in Loss - Dunedin Blue Jays
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