Mets rally falls short in 4-3 loss to Tortugas

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 10, 2023) – A ninth inning rally for the St. Lucie Mets fell just short in a 4-3 loss to the Daytona Tortugas on Wednesday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The Mets entered the final inning trailing 4-1. Eduardo Salazar started the rally with a double off John Murphy, which was just the second hit of the game for the Mets. Yeral Martinez followed with a strong single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Kevin Villavicencio then grounded a single up the middle to score Salazar and cut the deficit to 4-2.

The Tortugas doused the rally when Murphy struck out Fernando Villalobos and catcher Logan Tanner threw out Villavicencio trying to steal second on the same pitch. Martinez scored on the play to make it 4-3, but the Mets were down to their last out. Luis Castillo pinch hit and drew a walk. However, Murphy retired Scott Ota on a ground out to end the game.

The Tortugas took control of the game early by scoring a run in four consecutive innings. All four runs came against Mets starter Felipe De La Cruz. Two of the runs scored on wild pitches by De La Cruz with two outs in the second and fourth innings.

Daytona’s final run came in the bottom of the fifth when Cade Hunter singled and got caught in a rundown between first and second long enough to allow Tanner to score from third and give the Tortugas a 4-1 lead.

De La Cruz took the loss. He pitched 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out a season-high eight.

Three Mets relievers – Jean Calderon, Joe Joe Rodriguez and Luke Bartnicki – combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. The trio gave up two hits and struck out six.

All told the four Mets pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in eight innings.

Villavicencio led the way at the plate by going 2 for 4.

Daytona starter Ryan Cardona pitched 4.0 hitless innings. He walked the leadoff batter in each of the first three innings but retired the following three batters every time.

Tanner Cooper pitched 3.2 innings of relief to earn the win.

The Mets (8-21) and Tortugas (10-19) play the third game of their series on Thursday. First pitch from Jackie Robinson Ballpark is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.