Pujols and Garcia Go Yard in 12-7 Loss

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jose Pujols belted a three-run homer and Wilson Garcia went 4-for-4 on the night, but the Mets put up eight runs in the fourth inning to send the Threshers to their eighth straight loss, 12-7 on Monday night at Spectrum Field.
Garcia homered for the second-straight day, knocking a solo shot in the fourth. He matched a season high in hits, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs on the night, and has now recorded a hit in eight consecutive games.
Peter Alonso started the scoring for St. Lucie (54-65, 21-30) in the first inning, hitting an opposite field home run over the fence in right field to put the Mets up 1-0.
St. Lucie batted around for an eight spot in the fourth inning, the second most runs allowed in a single inning by the Threshers this year, putting the Mets up 9-1.
Garcia answered in the bottom half of the fourth with his career-high 12th long ball over the wall in center field.
The Mets grabbed three more runs off Tyler Gilbert in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 12-1.
The Threshers (61-60, 23-28) put up a six-run eighth inning capped by a three-run homerun to close in on the Mets.
Back-to-back singles to left field from Mark Laird and Cornelius Randolph put two runners on with one out. Garcia then had his fourth hit of the night, a ground ball through the right side to score Laird. Zach Green singled to load the bases, and Edgar Cabral doubled in two to make it 12-4.
Pujols then launched a three-run home run over the right field fence, bringing the deficit to 12-7.
Seranthony Domínguez (3-3) took the loss for Clearwater. He was responsible for six runs on nine hits, and struck out four through his 3.2 innings of work.
The Threshers take on St. Lucie for game two of the four-game series Tuesday Night at Spectrum Field. JoJo Romero takes the hill for the Threshers with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch. Kirsten Karbach will be on the call, with live coverage available at threshersbaseball.com beginning at 6:45 p.m.