Benge shines in pro debut, Mets rally past Tortugas 4-3

DAYONTA BEACH, Fla. (August 15, 2024) – The St. Lucie Mets stretched their winning streak to four games in a row with a 4-3 win against the Daytona Tortugas on Thursday night a Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Mets first round draft pick Carson Benge (19^th pick overall from Oklahoma State) made an impressive pro debut. Benge reached base four out of five plate appearances by going 1 for 2 with a single, three walks, a run scored and two stolen bases. He batted second and served as the designated hitter.

Yohairo Cuevas went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles, including a two-run double in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie that gave the Mets a 4-2 lead.

Mets starter Edgar Moreta pitched a career-high 5.2 innings and gave up just two runs (one earned). He allowed a solo home run to Ariel Almonte to start the second inning. The only other run that scored against him came when he made an errant throw to first base on a comebacker.

Moreta walked two and struck out five in the no-decision.

Layonel Ovalles pitched 2.1 innings of relief behind Moreta to get credit for the win. Ovalles allowed a two-out run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning that made it 4-3, but he recovered by striking out Esmith Pineda to strand the tying run at second base.

Cristofer Gomez worked around a two-out walk in the ninth inning to close out the game and earn his first save in his first opportunity.

The three Mets pitchers combined for just three walks. During the Mets four-game winning streak the pitching staff has issued just 11 walks and the defense has committed just one error.

The Mets are 6-1 in their last seven road games. One more win in the final three games in Daytona would clinch their second consecutive winning road series. A win on Friday would match their season best five-game winning streak.

The Mets (16-27, 38-71) and Tortugas (22-20, 53-55) play the fourth game of their series at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Friday. First pitch is 6:35 p.m.