Mets, Miracle split doubleheader in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 2, 2017) - The St. Lucie Mets and Fort Myers Miracle split their doubleheader at Hammond Stadium on Sunday. The Mets hung on to win the first game 5-4, then the Miracle romped to a 12-1 victory in game 2.
 
In game 1, Mets first baseman Peter Alonso crushed a grand slam and started a game-ending 3-6-3 to strand the tying run at third base.
 
With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth, J.C. Rodriguez, John Mora and Anthony Dimino hit consecutive singles to load the bases. That brought up Alonso, who punished a pitch from Brady Anderson deep into the left field berm for a grand slam. It was Alonso's sixth homer of the year and second grand slam of the season.
 
Mets starter Merandy Gonzalez was excellent again in his second St. Lucie start. He tossed six innings and allowed one earned run while striking out six.
 
The Mets carried a 5-2 lead to the bottom of the seventh and nearly squandered it. Four straight Miracle hitters singled off of Johnny Magliozzi to cut the Mets lead to 5-4. Josh Torres relieved Magliozzi and inherited runners on first and second with no outs. He got Zander Weil to fly out, then he induced the 3-6-3 double play to end the game and leave Brandon Lopez on third.
 
It was the second save for Torres.
 
John Mora singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Michael Paez went 2 for 2 with a double and a walk. J.C. Rodriguez was 2 for 3. Tim Tebow went 0 for 2 with a walk.
 
In game 2, the Miracle scored eight runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding 9-1 lead. Most of the damage was done against starter Andrew Church, who pitched 3.1 innings and allowed nine hits and nine runs (seven earned).
 
Zander Weil started the inning with a home run. Jermaine Palacios hit a two-run double and Tanner English added a RBI double.
 
Church pitched well for the first three innings. He recorded a season-high seven strikeouts, including six in a row between the first and second innings.
 
Enmanuel Zabala went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Tebow came off the bench in the seventh and reached on an infield single.
 
The Mets (2-8, 35-43)) and Miracle (6-3, 39-38) conclude their four-game series at Hammond Stadium on Monday at 7:05 p.m.