Blue Jays Offense Stalls, Mets Take Series-Opener 6-2

Dunedin, FL – The Dunedin Blue Jays (53-62, 21-28) dropped the opener of their penultimate home series 6-2 against the St. Lucie Mets (40-74, 16-33) at TD Ballpark Tuesday night.

The Mets were able to get on the board first, striking Blue Jays’ starter RHP Davis Feldman, for three runs in the second inning, two of which unearned. A walk and a single put the first two runners on, then an error on a double play ball loaded up the bases with nobody out. A sacrifice-fly brought in the first run, and a single reloaded the bases. Feldman was able to get a shallow fly ball by Yohairo Cuevas for the second out, but a chopper up the middle by Diego Mosquera brought in two runs to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

Dunedin had the opportunity to answer back in the bottom half of the third, loading the bases with only one out, but a pop out and a flyout saw the Blue Jays come up empty to keep it 3-0. The Blue Jays were able to get one back in the fourth, back-to-back singles by Nick Goodwin and Brennan Orf put runners on the corners with nobody out to set up another great chance, but a double play by Bryce Arnold scored the run to make it 3-1 but killed the momentum in the inning.

The Blue Jays would only manage one more hit over the next three innings, going down in order in the fifth and seventh, and St. Lucie took full advantage, striking for another big inning in the eighth.

With a runner on first and one away, RHP Kelena Sauer induced another double play ball, but an error saw everybody reach safely, and a double by Vincent Perozo on the very next pitch brought in both runs to make it 5-1. A wild pitch and a groundout extended the lead for the Mets again, taking a 6-1 advantage to the bottom of the eighth.

In the bottom half, Tucker Toman reached on a hit-by-pitch, and a single by Goodwin put runners on first and third with only one out. Roque Salinas was able to beat out a double play to score Toman, but the Blue Jays would only manage the one run, making it 6-2.

After holding the Mets scoreless in the ninth, Dunedin needed four to extend the game, but St Lucie reliever Eric Foggo came back out, completing a three-inning save by retiring the Blue Jays in order.

With the loss, Dunedin falls to 21-28 in the second half, now eleven games out of first and only six games away from elimination in the playoff race. St Lucie improved to 16-33 in the second half, notching their 40^th win of the year, the last team to do so in the Florida State League. The two teams go again on Wednesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and live coverage beginning at 6:15 p.m. on the Dunedin Blue Jays Radio Network.