Mets clip Miracle in 11th
PORT ST. LUCIE – The St. Lucie Mets walked off on a Matt Oberste RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to defeat the Fort Myers Miracle 4-3 Saturday night.
After playing 17 innings on Friday, the Mets and Miracle again needed extra frames to decide the third game of the series. Leading 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, Miracle reliever Jose Velez faced Michael Conforto to start the inning. After pitching two perfect frames in his season debut in the seventh and eighth, Velez surrendered a double to Conforto into left center.
Velez exited in favor of reliever Todd Van Steensel, the only Miracle bullpen arm that did not pitch Friday. Van Steensel (0-2) walked Maikis De La Cruz, but then retired Matt Oberste on a fly ball to left field for the first out. Victor Cruzado came to the plate for the Mets and sliced a double down the left field line. Conforto came in to score and tie the game 3-3 with De La Cruz racing behind him as the potential game winner. Logan Wade tracked the ball to the corner, hit Engelb Vielma at the cut-off. Vielma then unloaded a rocket to home plate to get De La Cruz and record the second out of the ninth. Van Steensel struck out Ahmed Rosario to force extra innings.
A scoreless 10th led to the 11th. After the Miracle were retired in the top of the frame by Mets reliever Robert Coles, Van Steensel returned for his third inning of work. Jeff McNeil roped a double into center to lead off. After intentionally walking Conforto, Van Steensel fanned De La Cruz. Then, on a 1-1 pitch, Matt Oberste lined a single into left center and McNeil scored to cap a 4-3 walk-off win for St. Lucie. Coles (1-0) earned the win.
The Miracle pushed across the first run of the game in the second inning with some help from a porous St. Lucie defense. Alex Swim led off with a ground ball up the middle that was misplayed by McNeil at second base. After Mets starter Rob Whalen got Jason Kanzler to fly out to center, Aderling Mejia hit a ground ball to McNeil. In an attempt to turn two, McNeil tossed to Rosario at the second base bag. Rosario failed to touch second base and both runners were ruled safe.
With Michael Quesada at the plate, Whalen lost control of a pitch in the dirt and the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Quesada then hit a chopper to third base that brought in Swim, 1-0.
In the fourth with one out, Kanzler took a curveball from Whalen in his back. On the next pitch to Mejia, Kanzler stole second. Mejia then pulled a grounder to first and was retired, but Kanzler moved up to third. With Quesada at the plate, Whalen flipped a fastball in the dirt and Kanzler trotted home for the second Miracle run, 2-0.
Chad Christensen pushed the Miracle lead to 3-0 with a solo home run in the top half of the sixth inning. On a 2-0 pitch, Christensen deposited a deep fly ball over the wall in left center for his first home run of the season.
St. Lucie answered in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, McNeil looped a single into left field off Miracle starter Ryan Eades. Then, on the first pitch, Conforto launched a two-run shot off the batter’s eye in dead center field to cut the Miracle lead down to a run.
Eades went six innings and allowed just two runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a no decision. Whalen went 7.2 innings with three runs given up, two earned, on four hits and four punch outs, also receiving a no decision.
The extra inning game was Fort Myers’ seventh in the first 17 of the season. The Miracle are 2-5 in those games.
The Miracle (6-11) return to Hammond Stadium Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. and begin a three-game set with the Palm Beach Cardinals.