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St. Lucie Wins

Edgy DC Sep 07 2006 10:53 AM

Malo leads St. Lucie to division title By Bryan Hoch Inside Pitch Magazine The St. Lucie Mets won the Florida State League East division title Wednesday, defeating the Palm Beach Cardinals 6-5 behind the strength of Jonathan Malo's three-run homer. Malo, a 22-year-old infielder, hit his shot with two outs in the eighth inning, snapping a 3-3 tie. A 48th round pick in the 2003 draft from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Malo - a Quebec native - batted .239 with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 91 games for St. Lucie this year. He also played 20 games at Class-A Brooklyn of the New York Penn League. The Cardinals made a comeback attempt against St. Lucie closer Carlos Muniz in the top of the ninth inning, with Joe Mather cracking a two-run home run. Muniz came back to strike out Luis Cotto for the final out, completing an inning in which he struck out three batters. Gary Carter's St. Lucie Mets club won a first half Florida State League division title and finished second to Palm Beach in the second half, posting a 37-32 record. The Mets won Game 1 of the best-of-three series on Tuesday as right-hander Jose Sanchez held Palm Beach to one run and two hits over six innings, leading to a 6-4 victory. St. Lucie will now continue on to play the winner of the FSL West series between the Fort Myers Miracle and the Dunedin Blue Jays on Friday. The series is tied at 1-1 with a deciding game scheduled for Thursday.

Yancy Street Gang Sep 07 2006 10:57 AM

Which infield position does Malo play? I find myself hoping that it's first or second base.

Edgy DC Sep 07 2006 10:58 AM

T'ird. Boxscore.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2006 12:48 AM

Edgy DC Sep 08 2006 11:01 AM

St. Lucie playes the Dunedin Blue Jays today in the first game of the Florida State League Championship Series. I'm not sure who is starting. Jose Sanchez is the team's number-one starter (having lost Mike Pelfrey, Michael Devaney, Alay Soler and Philip Humber to promotions), but he went Tuesday and will probably get game three Sunday. I'm guessing Jonathan Niese goes, though he spent most of the season in Hagerstown. Other possibilities are Bobby Parnell, Blake Eager, and Deolis Guerra.

MFS62 Sep 08 2006 11:21 AM

And, in case nobody noticed, the Brooklyn Cyclones made the wild card in the NYP League on the last day of the season. They open up this week against the (insert BOOOs here) The Staten Island Yankees. Later

Edgy DC Sep 10 2006 01:14 PM

Go, go, go, Gary Carter! Mets roar back for win By staff report September 9, 2006 DUNEDIN — The St. Lucie Mets rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the Dunedin Blue Jays 7-5 in Game 1 of the Florida State League Championship Series Friday at Knology Park. The Mets rally started with a double by Jesus Flores. Enrique Cruz walked and both runners came home on a double by Alhaji Turay. Jonathan Malo singled with Turay going to third. Fernando Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to score Turay. The Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a two-run double by Aaron Mathews and an RBI single by Robinson Diaz. The Mets came back with two runs in the fourth on a two-run homer by Caleb Stewart. The Mets then tied it in the fifth as Turay doubled and scored on a groundout by Martinez. Turay, who had a big game with four hits, homered in the seventh to give St. Lucie its first lead of the night. But the Blue Jays weren't done as they scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. Diaz had an RBI double and Eric Nielsen drew a bases-loaded walk. The win went to Travis Hope (1-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Carlos Muniz pitched the ninth to get his third save in the playoffs. Milton Tavarez (0-1) took the loss for the Blue Jays. ON DECK: Game 2 will be played today at 7 p.m. The third game will be played at Tradition Field at 7 p.m And the next night... Late rally boosts St. Lucie Mets By staff report DUNEDIN — The St. Lucie Mets scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to come from behind for a 5-3 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League championship on Saturday night. St. Lucie, which came back in the ninth inning for a second straight game, leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and will return to Tradition Field today with a chance to wrap up the title at home. The Mets trailed 3-1 going into the ninth inning, but Mike Carp hit an RBI double to plate Caleb Stewart and get things started with one out. Dunedin pitcher Connor Falkenbach intentionally walked Jesus Flores to put runners on first and second, and Enrique Cruz homered to left field to take the lead. St. Lucie pitcher Carlos Muniz replaced Marcelo Perez to start the bottom of the inning and faced just three batters to earn the save. Muniz struck out the first two batters before getting Robinzon Diaz on a fly out to left fielder Corey Coles. Perez earned the win, pitching 2/3 inning and striking out one batter, while allowing no hits or runs. Carp finished 3-for-4 with two runs, a double and an RBI. St. Lucie plays host to Dunedin today at 7 p.m. on David Wright Bobblehead Night. If necessary, the final two games will be played Monday and Tuesday at Tradition Field. Rock on!

Edgy DC Sep 10 2006 10:01 PM

We're in the ninth, the Lucies have a 6-2 lead. Joe Serfass on for the championship.

Edgy DC Sep 10 2006 10:12 PM

Honestly, nobody's updating this score. The game probably ended hours ago, but I'm not finding any reports. Gary Carter and Frank Robinson are the only two Hall-of-Famers managing right now.

Edgy DC Sep 10 2006 10:34 PM

Here we go. Dunedin Top 9th None out. None on. Robinzon Diaz grounds out, shortstop Jose Coronado to first baseman Mike Carp. One out. None on. Ron Davenport grounds out, second baseman Enrique Cruz to first baseman Mike Carp. Two out. None on. Eric Nielsen singles on a ground ball to left fielder Corey Coles. Two out. Runner on first. Cory Patton doubles (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Caleb Stewart. Eric Nielsen to 3rd. Two out. Runners on second and third. Pitcher Change: Carlos Muniz replaces Joseph Serfass. Two out. Runners on second and third. Carlo Cota reaches on catcher interference by Jesus Flores. Carlo Cota to 1st. Two out. Runners on first, second, and third. Tying run at the plate. Scott Dragicevich strikes out swinging. Game over! Gary Carter wins his second championship in two years! Big blows: Fernando Martinez had a homer and a double. Jesus Flores --- who surely looks like the catcher of the future after rewarding the Mets with an excellent season in return for them promoting him after a terrible 2005 --- went 4-4 with a double. It was surely a team effort, but Jose Sanchez sure earned himself prospect status after going six and a third for his second playoff win.

Edgy DC Sep 11 2006 09:21 AM

Wow. The catchers interference came amidst a premature celebration. St. Lucie sweeps Dunedin to earn its fifth Florida State League title By BILL WHITEHEAD correspondent September 11, 2006 PORT ST. LUCIE — Different night, different title at stake, same great St. Lucie Mets result. DEBORAH SILVER deborah.silver@scripps.com St. Lucie Mets players celebrate their Florida State League championship with champagne after Sunday's 6-2 win over Dunedin at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. St. Lucie swept Dunedin in three games to win its fifth FSL crown. DEBORAH SILVER deborah.silver@scripps.com St. Lucie Mets players and manager Gary Carter, bottom center, celebrate their Florida State League championship after Sunday's 6-2 win over Dunedin at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. St. Lucie swept Dunedin in three games to win its fifth FSL crown. Starter Jose Sanchez threw six-plus innings of one-run ball and the Mets played spectacular defense behind him Sunday night to win the Florida State League Championship Series with a 6-2 victory over the Dunedin Blue Jays. The Mets' three-game series sweep brought the title back to Tradition Field for the first time since 2003. It was the fifth championship for St. Lucie, which was also the FSL's top club in 1988, 1996 and 1998. "The key is good pitching, good defense and then the hitting. We had 15 hits today, and the defense was outstanding," said St. Lucie manager Gary Carter, who celebrated his first championship as a manager. "The team battled all year long, and they played sound, fundamental baseball all year. I'm so proud of them." With closer Carlos Muniz on the mound with a four-run lead and a pair of runners on base in the ninth, the reliever induced a flyball that center fielder Fernando Martinez caught, starting a celebration. The umpires, though, ruled catcher's interference, awarding first base to the Dunedin batter to load the bases and sending Mets players back to the dugout. But Muniz, who saved all five St. Lucie postseason games, struck out Scott Dragecivich on an 0-2 pitch and the real celebration began. FSL commissioner Chuck Murphy later presented the trophy to Carter at home plate, and the champagne flowed again. The Mets took the lead in the third inning with a pair of runs off Blue Jays starter Eric Fowler. The 17-year-old Martinez slugged a homer onto the berm in right field for a 1-0 lead. Mike Carp later followed with a two-out single to plate Jose Coronado, who had doubled after Martinez's shot. Jesus Flores, who went 4-for-4, made it 3-0 in the fifth when he hit a twisting fly to right field with two outs that Dunedin's Eric Nielsen appeared to catch while diving but couldn't hold onto as he hit the ground, allowing Carp to score from first. St. Lucie finished their scoring by batting around in the seventh, with Jonathan Malo, Coronado and Corey Coles all driving in runs. Meanwhile, outstanding defense held Dunedin in check. The second and third innings both ended on sharp double-plays turned by shortstop Coronado and second baseman J.E. Cruz, the second one with a pair of runners on base. With a runner on first in the fifth, first baseman Carp ended the inning by using his 6-foot-2 frame to leap and snare a one-hopper hit by Ron Davenport that appeared headed to the right-field corner for extra bases. Later in the sixth with Dunedin runners on first and second, Flores ended the threat by tossing out Carlo Cota as he attempted to take second base on a ball that bounced away from the catcher. While the Mets never trailed in the deciding game, they gained momentum in the series' first two contests in Dunedin. The Blue Jays were three outs from winning Games 1 and 2 but watched the Mets' last-inning heroics change the series completely.

MFS62 Sep 11 2006 09:46 AM

]But Muniz, who saved all five St. Lucie postseason games A Boy Named Seo must be a proud pappa today. Later

Frayed Knot Sep 11 2006 12:52 PM

Jesus Flores gets some pub from Baseball Prospectus: Jesus Flores, c, High Class A St. Lucie (Mets) The St. Lucie Mets cruised to the Florida State League championship over the weekend, completing a three-game sweep of Dunedin (Blue Jays) and going a perfect 5-0 in the post-season. In Sunday's 6-2 clincher, Flores went 4-for-4 with a double and a stolen base to complete a playoff run in which he reached base 11 times; he's coming off a regular season in which he hit .266/.335/.487, tied the league lead with 21 home runs, and finished fourth in slugging. While the Mets felt strongly about Flores' potential, this is still a massive breakout for the 21-year-old Venezuelan who hit a Bill Plummer-esque .216/.250/.339 last year at Low Class A Hagerstown. This write-up doesn't mention it but the team LOVES his defense. That plus a good season w/the bat in the GCL 2 years ago is what first gave him 'prospect' status - albeit somewhat speculatively since, well ... it's the Gulf Coast League. Nice bounce back after falling through the floor last year.

MFS62 Sep 11 2006 01:02 PM

He was injured last year. BP should have known that. All the more credit to him, rebounding from injury, going up in level and improving his game. I have good vibes about him. Later