Mets strong on mound, take advantage of miscues in 3-1 win

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (May 11, 2022) – The St. Lucie Mets snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-1 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Wednesday at Clover Park.

A night after using seven pitchers, the Mets only needed starter Mike Vasil and reliever Luis Moreno to shut down the Flying Tigers for nine innings.

Vasil pitched 5.0 shutout innings to get the win. He gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out four while throwing 79 pitches. Vasil has only allowed one earned run in his last three starts, which span 16 innings.

Moreno pitched the final four innings to convert the second save of his career. His first save was also 12 outs for St. Lucie in 2021. Lakeland’s only run against Moreno came on a ground out in the top of the ninth.

The Mets offense only registered two hits but a series of miscues by the Flying Tigers helped let in three runs.

Stanley Consuegra tripled in the bottom of the first after left fielder Austin Schultz misread the fly ball. Consuegra scored from third on a wild pitch by Lakeland starter Nick Davila to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The Mets scored twice in the fifth with two outs. Jose Rivera hit an infield single and Kevin Villavicenio reached on a throwing error. Albert Suarez then grounded a ball to first baseman Mike Rothenberg who overshot his pitcher covering first base. The error let in Rivera for a 2-0 lead and Villavicencio advanced to third base. Villavicencio went on to score on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

The Mets (19-10) and Flying Tigers (13-15) play the third game of their series at Clover Park on Thursday. First pitch is 6:10 p.m. Fans can enjoy $1 beer (8 oz. Bud and Bud Light), $1 soda, $1 popcorn and $2 hot dogs.