St. Lucie Recap: Hammerheads Blank St. Lucie Mets 4-0

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Mercedes strikes out 8, gives up 1 hit over 4.0 innings

 

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (May 4, 2024) – The Jupiter Hammerheads shut out the St. Lucie Mets 4-0 on Saturday night at Clover Park.

 

Noble Meyer, Miami's No. 1 prospect and the 10^th overall pick from last year's draft, limited the Mets to one hit over 5.0 innings. Meyer walked two and struck out nine, including five of the last seven batters he faced.

 

Jupiter relievers Patrick Murphy, Josh Eckness and Riskiel Tineo combined for the final 4.0 innings to finish off the shutout.

 

Jupiter scored its first run before an out was recorded. Mets starter Ernesto Mercedes walked leadoff hitter Jordan McCants to start the game. McCants stole second and third base before scoring on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

 

Mercedes struck out three straight batters to end the first inning. He also struck out five in a row from the third inning into the fourth inning.

 

Mercedes ended up pitching 4.0 innings. He gave up just one infield hit and one run while walking four and striking out eight. He now has 18 strikeouts in his last two appearances.

 

Jupiter held the 1-0 lead until scoring again in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI single by Renny Hidalgo off Jack Wenninger.

 

The Hammerheads scored two more runs against Wenninger in the eighth inning when Jesus Hernandez hit a RBI single and John Cruz hit a sac fly for the final run of the night.

 

Mets leadoff hitter Boston Baro reached base three times on two walks and a single.

 

Yohario Cuevas hit a double in the seventh inning while trailing 2-0 but Nick Morabito was thrown out at the plate on a relay throw from McCants to end the threat.

 

The Mets, who scored 27 runs in the first three games of the series, have been held off the scoreboard by Jupiter for 15 consecutive innings.

 

The Mets (12-14) and Hammerheads (17-9) conclude their six-game series at Clover Park on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. For $30 fans can get a ticket to the game and enjoy a Cinco de Mayo themed brunch. Brunch tickets are available only online at stluciemets.com.