Daytona Cubs 4, @ St. Lucie Mets 2

Daytona out-hit St. Lucie 13-5 to finish off a three-game sweep of the Mets to capture the Florida State League Championship in front of a paid crowd of 655.

Darin Gorski was hit hard: 6 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Josh Edgin finished his FSL season with two shutout innings out of the ‘pen with two hits, a walk and two whiffs.

No St. Lucie batter had more than one hit.  And for the second night in a row, Cory Vaughn, who played in the first game in the Championship Series, did not play.

@ Daytona Cubs 10, St. Lucie Mets 4

The FSL Mets fell down 0-2 in the best-of-five game championship series with Saturday’s loss to the Cubs.

Scott Moviel just didn’t have it: 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

3B Jefry Marte had the best night offensively, going 2-4 with a homer.

St. Lucie’s starting OF and DH spots: LF – Pedro Zapata, CF – Cesar Puello, RF – Gilbert Gomez, DH – Travis Ozga.  Yeah, no Cory Vaughn.  Including his 2-for-15 in the FSL playoffs, he’s hit .163/.267/.349 in his last 89 AB in the Florida State League since August 1 with a .159 BABIP and strikeouts in 21% of his plate appearances.

John Church is in line to throw game three, with Zack Wheeler and Darin Gorski lined up for games four and five if the Mets can extend the series that far.

@ St. Lucie Mets 4, Bradenton Marauders 3 (10 innings)

With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, 3B Jefry Marte lined a single to right-center field to score Travis Ozga with the winning run and send St. Lucie to the Florida State League Championship Series.

The Mets trailed 2-1 going to the bottom of the sixth when LF Pedro Zapata ripped a solo home run to tie the score at 2-2.  Zapata, who hit .292/.333/.389 during the regular season, was 3-5.  After three home runs during the regular season, his long ball was his first since August 3.

After the Marauders picked up a run in the top of the eighth inning, the Mets tied it in the bottom half when Zapata singled, stole second and scored on SS Wilmer Flores’ RBI Single.

Greg Peavey was really good (7 IP, 6 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K).  Josh Edgin (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) was not, but Jeff Kaplan recorded the final outs to give St. Lucie a chance to win the game.

Armando Rodriguez will take the ball for St. Lucie in game one on Friday night.

Bradenton Marauders 10, @ St. Lucie Mets 0

Ouch.  The Pirates affiliate tied the best-of-three series at a game apiece by outhitting St. Lucie 14-2.

Zack Wheeler: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.  He didn’t work a clean inning all night and fell apart in a four-run fourth.  Wheeler wasn’t alone in his struggles as each of St. Lucie’s five pitchers was charged with at least one run.

This game was preceded by a 2:04 rain delay and was played in front of a paid crowd of 691.

St. Lucie Mets 4, @ Bradenton Marauders 2

St. Lucie overcame a 2-0 deficit heading to the sixth to win an important game one on the road.

Darin Gorski was solid: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, but left down 2-1.

In a 2-2 game in the ninth, 2B Jose Coronado doubled to center field to drive in two runs to give St. Lucie the winning runs. The 25-year old Coronado played for the 2006 St. Lucie Mets FSL Championship team, but this year hit .197/.289/.247 in 76 games between AA and advanced-A.

3B Jefry Marte was 2-4 with a run and two strikeouts while RF Cory Vaughn was 2-4 with one strikeout.

The St. Lucie Mets get to send Zack Wheeler to the mound Wednesday with a chance to eliminate the Marauders.  That’s good for the Mets and bad for the Marauders.

________

The Brooklyn Cyclones were rained out Tuesday and will host the Staten Island Yankees Wednesday in game one of the New York Penn League Playoffs.

Saturday Game 1 – @ St. Lucie Mets 3, Palm Beach Cardinals 1
Saturday Game 2 – Palm Beach Cardinals 10, @ St. Lucie Mets 5
Sunday – Palm Beach Cardinals 4, @ St. Lucie Mets 1

Saturday, Johan Santana gave up one run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and no walks. Yeah, I’m excited about seeing him helping an affiliate’s playoff chase this weekend.

In game two Saturday, DH Cory Vaughn: 2-3, 3B, HR. After an 0-for-4 Sunday, he finished his time in the FSL at .219/.308/.395 in 63 games at age 22.

Kyle Allen couldn’t finish the first inning in game two however: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 WP.

CF Cesar Puello was 2-4 Sunday and with a hit to finish at .259/.313/.397 in 117 games in St. Lucie.  However, in 55 games in the second half, he hit a much healthier .284/.336/.463 with nine doubles.  That .463 slugging percentage is 15th in the League since June 20.  The only other player in the top 20 in the FSL in slugging in that time, who like Puello is under 21, is Twins OF Oswaldo Arcia, a month younger than Puello, who hit .263/.300/.460.

A+: @ Palm Beach Cardinals 2, St. Lucie Mets 0

SS Wilmer Flores (.271/.310/.378): 2-3, BB.

Greg Peavey (5-4, 3.97): 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

A: @ Lexington Legends 7, Savannah Sand Gnats 3

Erik Goeddel (3-5, 3.39) faced one over the minimum through the first three innings, allowed a run in the fourth, and then fell apart in the fifth, walking four of five batters.  His final line: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.

3B Dustin Lawley, in his first game with the Gnats up from Kingsport was 2-4 with a double and a jack.