Cubs outlast Mets, win Finals opener

Elliot Soto hasn't gotten all of the Daytona Cubs' key hits. It just seems that way.

The Cubs prospect singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning Friday as Daytona waited out a rain delay of nearly 2 1/2 hours before beating the St. Lucie Mets, 3-1, in Game 1 of the Florida State League Championship Series.

Soto was hitting .261 when he was promoted from Class A Peoria to Daytona at the beginning of August. He batted .309 in 25 regular-season games with the Cubs and has upped that mark to .538 through four postseason contests.

"He's been getting the bat on the ball," Daytona manager Buddy Bailey said. "When he first got here, he was putting the ball in the air, swinging at more bad pitches. He's got his strike zone knowledge down, he's working the count better.

"He's not a really big guy; fly balls will never be his forte. He's got to get it on the ground and on the line."

The 22-year-old shortstop did just that in the eighth. With the score tied, 1-1, Matt Szczur -- the Cubs' No. 2 prospect -- hit a two-out double off reliever Eric Niesen (0-1). Soto beat out an infield hit as Szczur raced home with the tiebreaking run.

"It seems like he's in the middle of all our rallies," Bailey said of Soto.

Chad Noble, who struck out with the bases loaded in the fourth, followed with an RBI double to give Daytona a 3-1 cushion.

"That was a big hit," Bailey said. "You feel a whole lot better with that second run. When you get the second one that late in the game, it puts momentum on your side."

Frank Batista finished off a stellar effort by the Cubs bullpen with a scoreless ninth, pitching around a leadoff single by Wilmer Flores and a walk to Stefan Welch. Yoannis Negrin came on after the rain delay and limited St. Lucie to one hit while striking out three over four shutout innings.

"We were hoping to get two [innings out of him], but he was so effective," Bailey said. "He had really good command. He was getting all of his pitchers over and he was getting his secondary pitches in the zone down in the count. He was masterful tonight."

The Mets struck quickly as Flores, New York's No. 2 prospect, delivered an RBI single in the first. Armando Rodriguez protected the lead with 3 2/3 scoreless innings but did not take the mound after the long rain delay.

Daytona tied it in the sixth against John Church as Soto's bases-loaded groundout scored Greg Rohan.

Justin Bour went 3-for-4 to raise his playoff average to .438 for the Cubs, who host Game 2 of the best-of-5 series on Saturday.