Strong Pitching Delivers Marauders Their Second-Straight Win in Port St. Lucie

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — The Bradenton Marauders fell just three hits shy of a shutout, but still came on top 4-1 over the St. Lucie Mets on Wednesday afternoon from Clover Park.

For the second-straight day, the Marauders jumped ahead first. After Saul Garcia (2-7) retired the side in order in the first inning, Esmerlyn Valdez singled to left field to open the second. Terrero walked and then Jhonny Severino singled to right field to score Valdez and give Bradenton a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Javier Rivas pushed a bunt up the first base side to score Terrero to double the tally at 2-0.

In the bottom half of the frame, AJ Ewing singled and Yonatan Henriquez walked to place two runners on with one out. Connor Oliver retired the next two batters to end the inning. The game then entered a rain delay at 1:46pm that lasted 56 minutes.

When play resumed, Bradenton added another run in the third. Yordany De Los Santos singled, stole second and third base before scoring on a double from Shalin Polanco.

The Marauders plated their final run in the sixth on a solo-home run from Axiel Plaz. Coming into today, Bradenton holds three of the top eight home run leaders in the Florida State League.

Bradenton received strong pitching from both their rotation and bullpen. Connor Oliver worked three scoreless to start, followed by Danny Carrion who struck out three in two frames. Noah Takacs (1-1) went the next three before Greiber Mendez closed out the game out in the ninth.

The Mets scored their lone run in the ninth on a solo-home run from Estarling Mercado to cut the deficit to 4-1. Bradenton has now won 10-straight head-to-head meetings against the Mets.

The Marauders and Mets continue their six-game series on Thursday night at Clover Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 5:50 p.m. on the Marauders Broadcast Network.