FSL1 Charlotte Stone Crabs

Stone Crabs Fall to Mets, 5-2

Published on August 7, 2011 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Charlotte Stone Crabs News Release


PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Two nights, two ballparks, and a win for each club. The Charlotte Stone Crabs dropped a 5-2 contest to the St. Lucie Mets on Sunday at Charlotte Sports Park.

After opening the series at Digiatal Domain Park on Saturday, both teams trekked across the state to play the final two contests in Port Charlotte. It was the Mets who continued a trend of winning games at the expense of Charlotte, claiming their 11th winning decision in the 14 contests between the two clubs this season.

Highly regarded pitching prospect Zack Wheeler (1-1), who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Carlos Beltran, picked up his first win in the Florida State League.

Wheeler worked six scoreless innings as the Mets offense came to life late in the game against the Charlotte bullpen. He did not issue a walk while striking out seven batters.

The Stone Crabs got a good start from right-hander Merrill Kelly. His six innings of three-hit, shut-out ball kept the game tight into the seventh, when the Mets broke through for a pair of runs.

St. Lucie's seventh inning rally was sparked by a lead-off single from catcher Francisco Pena. His chopper off Charlotte reliever Adam Liberatore appeared to go past the third base bag in foul territory but was ruled fair by homeplate umpire Nic Lentz.

Believing the ball was foul, Pena got a late start out of the box and was unable to reach second as the ball rolled down the left field line. After a sacrifice bunt, Pedro Zapata broke the scoreless tie with an RBI-single. He would later score on Cesar Puello's sacrifice fly to give St. Lucie a 2-0 advantage.

The Mets added three more runs in the seventh off Stone Crabs reliever Deivis Mavarez. A sacrifice fly by Cory Vaughn and a two-run single by Pena accounted for the damage and stretched the lead to 5-0.

Charlotte broke up the shut-out with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Hak-Ju Lee doubled to open the frame and was immediately tripled home by Ty Morrison. Mark Thomas provided another run, blooping a single to right to plate Morrison.

That rally was halted momentarily with two outs and Tyler Bortnick at bat as Charlotte manager Jim Morrison was ejected from the game by Lentz for arguing balls and strikes. When play resumed, Mets reliever Eric Niesen buckled down to strike out Bortnick and end the threat.

That would prove to be all the offense that the Stone Crabs could manage. Despite a lead-off single in the ninth, Mets reliever Josh Edgin settled down to record his sixth save in seven tries.

Liberatore (5-3) was stuck with the loss after allowing a pair of eighth inning runs.

The loss bumped the Stone Crabs down a slot and into third place in the second half South Division Standings. The Bradenton Marauders won their eighth consecutive contest to move three games ahead of Charlotte, while the idle Palm Beach Cardinals took over second place after being rained out on Sunday.

The series concludes on Monday as the Stone Crabs send left-hander Kyle Lobstein (7-9) to the mound against Mets righty Armando Rodriguez (3-3). First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

Check out the Charlotte Stone Crabs Statistics

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Florida State League Stories from August 7, 2011


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