Tortugas beat Mets 13-4 in season finale

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (September 10, 2023) – The Daytona Tortugas cruised to a 13-4 victory over the St. Lucie Mets at Clover Park on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2023 season.

The Mets jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first inning. Vincent Perozo drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, Jefrey De Los Santos hit a RBI double and Nick Lorusso followed with a RBI single to make it 3-0.

However, the Mets had a rough afternoon on the mound. St. Lucie used seven pitchers who combined to walk 14 batters.

Daytona took the lead for good with a five-run second inning. Mets starter Ernesto Mercedes, who walked three in the first inning but escaped a bases-loaded jam, ran into more command issues in the second. He walked the first two batters and threw a wild pitch. Connor Burns hit a RBI infield single to make it a 3-1 game. An error later in the inning scored another run. Yassel Pino crushed a two-run double to give Daytona a 4-3 lead. Jack Morris capped the inning with a sac fly that made it 5-3.

The Tortugas broke the game open with six runs in the sixth inning. Nine Tortugas came to the plate in the frame. The big blow came with two outs when Carlos Sanchez crushed a three-run double that made it 12-4. Most of the damage was done against Gregori Louis, who recorded two outs in the inning and allowed five runs.

Daytona reliever Jose Montero pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to get the win. He only gave up one hit and walked one. Montero struck out four.

Franklin Gomez took the loss for the Mets. He was charged with three runs (two earned) over 2.2 innings.

Franklin Gomez, Cristofer Gomez, Louis and Andinson Ferrer all made their St. Lucie debuts on the mound. That brought the total number of players used by the Mets this season to 100, which tied a franchise record set in 2022.

Offensively for the Mets, Yohairo Cuevas led the way by going 3 for 4 with three singles and a RBI.

Diego Mosquera was 1 for 4 with a single and a hit-by-pitch. He reached base safely in 20 straight games to end the season.

Two-way player Nolan McLean went 1 for 4 with a single and walk. The single was his first hit as a St. Lucie Met. He pitched 2.0 scoreless innings on Saturday.

The Mets completed the 2023 season with a 44-84 overall record and a 21-42 second half record. The team will announce information regarding the 2024 schedule in the coming weeks. Stay up to date with the Mets and happenings at Clover Park during the offseason at www.stluciemets.com.