Stone Crabs stun Mets 4-3 in 10 innings

Charlotte 20-2 in last 22 games

July 17, 2019

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (July 17, 2019) - Down to their final strike in the ninth inning, the Charlotte Stone Crabs forced extras and beat the St. Lucie Mets 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday afternoon at First Data Field.The Mets led 3-2 with two outs in the top of

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (July 17, 2019) - Down to their final strike in the ninth inning, the Charlotte Stone Crabs forced extras and beat the St. Lucie Mets 4-3 in 10 innings on Wednesday afternoon at First Data Field.
The Mets led 3-2 with two outs in the top of the ninth. Charlotte's Jermaine Palacios hit a game-tying RBI single on a 2-2 pitch under the outstretched glove of Mets third baseman Cody Bohanek to bring home Zach Rutherford from third base.
In the top of the 10th Ronaldo Hernandez blooped a run-scoring single to plate Jake Palomaki for a 4-3 lead. Jack Labosky pitched perfect bottom of the 10th with two strikeouts to end the game.
The Stone Crabs improved to 20-2 in their last 22 games and they opened up a five game lead over the Mets in the FSL South Division. The Stone Crabs are 9-2 vs. the Mets this year and they've won the last three meetings by one run each.
The Mets had chances on offense to pad leads but couldn't come up with big hits. In the third inning they had the bases loaded with no outs but mustered just one run on a walk by Matt Winaker. The base on balls gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth inning the Mets had runners at the corners with one out but a strikeout and caught stealing got the Stone Crabs out of the inning.
Hernandez tied the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth with a RBI single that brought in Wander Franco.
The Mets broke the tie in the seventh with three consecutive two-out singles. Winaker's flare into center field scored Carlos Cortes for a 3-2 lead.
Thomas McIlraith induced a huge double play to get the Mets out of a jam in the eighth inning.
Mets closer Ezequiel Zabaleta surrendered a leadoff single to Kaleo Johnson to start the ninth. A wild pitch moved the pinch runner Rutherford to second base. Zabaleta retired the next two batters to set up a showdown with Palacios with the game on the line. Palacios just got his hit under Bohanek's glove to tie it up.
Mets starter Luc Rennie pitched well. Over five innings the only run he allowed was a solo home run to Garrett Whitley.
Cortes went 3 for 5. Jacob Zanon was 2 for 5.
Hernandez went 3 for 5 for the Stone Crabs.
The Mets (18-11, 50-45) and Stone Crabs (57-36, 22-5) wrap up their series at First Data Field on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.