Cubs rout Mets, sweep Saturday double-dip

Daytona Beach, FL - The Daytona Cubs swept the first of back-to-back twinbills from the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday at Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. After games Thursday and Friday were postponed, the Cubs took game one 6-3 and game two 9-1 on Saturday.

Game One

After surrendering an unearned run in the first, Cubs starter RHP Felix Pena (W, 4-6) settled down nicely and benefitted from a three-run Cubs first inning.

Daytona began the game with four-straight singles from CF Jacob Hannemann, SS Marco Hernandez, DH Kyle Schwarber and 1B Dan Vogelbach. Scwarber picked up an RBI with his knock, and Vogelbach added two to his team-leading total (55).

The Cubs added three more runs in the fourth to knock Mets starter RHP Kevin McGowan (L, 2-2) out of the game.

St. Lucie rallied against Pena, plating two runs in the fifth, but the Dominican Republic native contained the damage and escaped further trouble.

RHP Stephen Perakslis (S, 3) tossed two perfect innings to end the game and earn his third save of the season.

Game Two

RHP Tayler Scott (W, 6-7) pitched a quick 1-2-3 first inning, foreshadowing a spectacular performance. Scott tossed five shutout innings, and struck out a career-high eight batters, surpassing his season-high by two and previous career-high by one (Kane County - '13). Scott recorded each of the eight strikeouts over the first four innings. He did not walk a batter.

Daytona utilized an emphatic seven-run second inning to put the game away early. Each of the first five Cubs reached in the frame, an inning that was separated by a 13 minute rain delay. 1B Dan Vogelbach recorded two hits in the inning which was the first time a Daytona Cubs player achieved that this season (Kris Bryant '13).

The Cubs added two more in the fourth to go ahead 9-0. The Mets plated their lone run in the sixth off RHP Tyler Bremmer.

LHP Austin Kirk finished the game with a perfect ninth.

Doubleheader Notes

Jacob Hannemann, who was making his Daytona debut, went 6-for-8 with three runs, two stolen bases, a double and an RBI in the two games.

Marco Hernandez went 4-for-7 with a triple, two runs and four RBIs.

Billy McKinney went 3-for-5 with a triple, a run and two RBIs. McKinney has driven in 17 runs in his 19 games with Daytona since coming over from the A's organization. He has reached base safely in 18 of the 19 games.

Dan Vogelbach went 4-for-7 with a run and two RBIs.

Kyle Schwarber recorded a hit in both games, and has reached base in all 10 games he's played with Daytona.

After game one, Felix Pena was promoted to AA-Tennessee.

In game two, all nine runs were scored by the nine different Daytona starters.

With the win and a Tampa Yankees loss, Daytona gained 1.5 games in the FSL North standings. The Cubs sit three games up on the rest of the division in the second half.

Daytona and St. Lucie are scheduled to finish the series with a doubleheader on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.