Game Recap: St. Lucie Mets lose heartbreaker to Blue Jays 6-5 in 11 innings

Wilfredo Lara, St. Lucie Mets Team Set

St. Lucie bullpen pitches 5.2 no-hit innings in loss

 

DUNEDIN, Fla. (August 26, 2023) – The Dunedin Blue Jays beat the St. Lucie Mets 6-5 in 11 innings on Saturday night at TD Ballpark (Box Score).

 

Blue Jays catcher Nicolas Deschamps hit a walk-off sac fly to left field with one out in the 11^th inning to plate Angel Del Rosario for the game-winning run. The Blue Jays have won four of the five games in the series, including four in a row.

 

The Mets overcame a 5-3 deficit in the ninth inning to force extra innings. Yohairo Cuevas led off the inning with a 436 home run that made it 5-4. With one out in inning Nick Morabito worked a walk. Ronald Hernandez then singled. Wilfredo Lara followed with another single. Morabito was stopping at third base on the hit but ran home to tie the game 5-5 when left fielder Braden Barry overran the ball.

 

The Mets ninth inning rally came to a halt when Kellum Clark lined out to second baseman Bryce Arnold and Hernandez was doubled off second base for an inning-ending double play.

 

Mets reliever Dakota Hawkins worked around an error in the bottom of the ninth to get the game to the 10^th.

 

Neither team scored in the 10^th inning. Karell Paz flew out to center field in the top of the inning and Clark was thrown out by Jace Bohrofen trying to tag up to third base for another double play.

 

Eric Foggo pitched the bottom of the 10^th and got a ground out, strike out and another ground out to keep the winning run from scoring.

 

The Mets missed out on another opportunity to score in the top of the 11^th. Free runner Nick Lorusso tried to advance to third base on a ground ball to shortstop Tucker Toman, who threw to third to nab Lorusso for a key first out. Keiner Leon struck out the next two batters to send the game to the bottom of the 11^th still tied 5-5.

 

The three Mets relievers in the game – Wilson Esterlin, Hawkins and Foggo – combined to throw 5.2 no-hit innings. The only run the trio gave up was the unearned run against Foggo to end the game. Esterlin (2.0 innings) and Hawkins (2.0 innings) were making their team debuts. The Blue Jays did not have a hit beyond the fourth inning.

 

Mets starter Douglas Orellana hung tough. He allowed five runs on five hits over 5.0 innings. He walked three and struck out five while throwing 96 pitches.

 

Hernandez, who was acquired by the Mets from the Marlins in the David Robertson trade, went 3 for 5 with a double and a RBI in his team debut.

 

Marco Vargas, who was also acquired from Miami in the Robertson trade, went 1 for 6 with a single and four strikeouts in his team debut.

 

The Mets dropped to 1-6 in extra inning games this season. They have scored just three runs in the seven extra inning affairs.

 

The Mets (40-78, 16-37) and Blue Jays (57-62, 25-28) conclude their six-game series at TD Ballpark on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.