5/22/15

Dunedin 3 - St. Lucie 2



The Dunedin Blue Jays scored two runs in the ninth to come back and beat the St. Lucie Mets 3-2 on Thursday at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

The Mets took a 2-1 lead to the final frame but Derrick Loveless tied it with a leadoff home run off of Mike Hepple.

Matt Dean followed with a single to center and advanced on a wild pitch. An infield single by Dawel Lugo put runners at the corners with one out. The Mets intentionally walked L.B. Dantzler to load the bases and bring up Boomer Collins.

Collins took three straight balls from Hepple, then on a 3-1 pitch took a borderline fastball that was called ball four by home plate umpire Derek Gonzales. The walk forced home Dean as the winning run.

The loss spoiled a terrific rehab start for Dillon Gee, who pitched for the second time in six days for St. Lucie as he works his way back to New York after a groin pull landed him on the DL.

Gee went 6.1 innings and allowed just three singles while striking out five. He only faced two over the minimum and at one point retired 10 Blue Jays in a row. He struck out Loveless on his 93rd pitch for the first out of the sixth to end his night.

Vic Black, also making a rehab appearance, took over and got a deep fly out to the warning track for the second out. Mitch Nay then doubled to the wall in left. Lugo came up and doubled high off the wall in center, scoring Nay to cut the Mets lead to 2-1.

The Mets had plenty of chances to score runs. After stranding 12 runners on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday, they stranded nine more on Thursday night.

Yeixon Ruiz started the game with a leadoff walk and scored on Matt Oberste’s one-out single. The Mets would leave two on in the first.

Phil Evans tripled home Amed Rosario with one out in the fourth to make it 2-0. However, the Mets couldn’t get Evans home from third with one out.

Ruiz started the fifth with a walk and promptly stole second. He was stranded on third base. In the sixth, Dominic Smith doubled to start the inning but he was also left on third base.

The Mets put runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth but could not get a hit to plate an insurance run.

Ruiz was the only Mets batter not to record a hit, but he did walk twice.

Chad Girado got the win for Dunedin by pitching a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Starter Murphy Smith gave up two runs on five hits in five innings.Team press release

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