Mets strike out 16 in 4-3 win vs. Fire Frogs

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (August 7, 2017) - Monday was a bullpen day for the St. Lucie Mets and four pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts in a 4-3 win over the Florida Fire Frogs at First Data Field.
 
Spot starter Kevin Canelon pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Alex Palsha fanned six batters over 2.2 innings while allowing just one earned run. Austin McGeorge tossed 2.1 innings and struck out five.
 
Adonis Uceta closed out the game with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth. It was his first FSL save.
 
Palsha was credited with the win.
 
The Mets scored all four of their runs in the first two innings. Nick Sergakis got the scoring started with a bases loaded sac fly to bring home John Mora. Later in the first inning Michael Paez drew bases loaded walk to force in Peter Alonso for a 2-0 lead.
 
Mora started the second inning with a bunt single. Wuilmer Becerra then dropped a single into shallow right field that was knocked away by second baseman Alay Lago. The error moved Mora to third base and Becerra up to second base.
 
On the next pitched, Alonso ripped a two-run double into the gap to make it 4-0 Mets. The consecutive hits by Mora, Becerra and Alonso were the only hits in the game for St. Lucie Mets
 
The Fire Frogs got on the board in the fourth inning. Lago started the frame with a single. He moved to second on a passed ball, to third on a ground ball and came home on Palsha's wild pitch.
 
A wild pitch on a strikeout that would have ended the sixth inning for Palsha gave the Fire Frogs another chance. A couple batters later Braxton Davidson hit a two-run double off of McGeorge to cut the Mets lead to 4-3. Davidson's hit would be the final hit for Florida, as McGeorge and Uceta cruised the rest of the way.
 
Alonso went 1 for 3 with the double, two RBI, a run and a walk.
 
Florida starter Kevin Matthews took the loss. Only one of the four runs against him over four innings was earned, but he did walk six batters and plunked two more.
 
The Mets (18-26, 51-61) and Fire Frogs (14-25, 39-66) play the middle game of their series at First Data Field on Tuesday. First pitch is 6:30 p.m.