Cardinals Drop the Series Opener to the Mets 8-5 on Tuesday Night

JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (23-25; 55-58) dropped the series opener against the St. Lucie Mets (34-15; 68-46) by the final score of 8-5 on Tuesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. A seven-run top of the fifth inning for the Mets created a hill that was too big for the Cardinals to climb.

Cardinals starting pitcher Leonel Sequera (L, 5-9) quickly retired the first two batters he faced but ran into trouble before the first inning ended. Antonio Jimenez reached on a bloop single and Daiverson Gutierrez drew a walk. Then, Trey Snyder dropped an RBI single into the outfield to score Jimenez and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

After the second and third innings went scoreless, Rainiel Rodriguez led off the bottom of the fourth inning with his ninth home run of the season, a solo home run to left field, to tie the game at 1-1. Later in the frame, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs but could not take their first lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Mets immediately regained the lead in a big way. Sequera allowed six consecutive baserunners to start the frame which ended his night. Antonio Jimenez delivered a bases-clearing, three-run double to put the Mets back on top with no outs. Later in the frame, Chase Meggers also notched a three-RBI double which broke the game open in favor of St. Lucie as the Mets took an 8-1 lead. In total, 11 batters came to home plate and seven runs scored. For Sequera, he finished with four innings pitched and a career-high seven earned runs allowed in his start.

The Cardinals got a couple of runs back in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Jonathan Mejia and Sammy Hernandez each drew a walk, Yordalin Peña drove in both runners on a two-RBI triple to cut the deficit to 8-3.

After a scoreless seventh inning, the Cardinals got a little bit closer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hernandez reached on catcher’s interference with one out in the inning. Peña followed him with a two-run home run, his sixth of the season and his fourth RBI of the night, to bring Palm Beach within three runs at 8-5 after eight innings.

However, that’s as close as the Cardinals would get in the ballgame. Around a Jonathan Mejia two-out single, Mets relief pitcher Ernesto Mercedes (Sv, 2) struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to nail down the 8-5 win for St. Lucie. With the loss, Palm Beach remains two-and-a-half games behind the Daytona Tortugas for a playoff spot with 17 games remaining.

The Cardinals continue their series against the Mets with game two of this six-game series on Wednesday, August 20^th with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. for another “Silver Sluggers” Wednesday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach Cardinals broadcast coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on the MiLB App, MiLB.TV, Bally Sports Live, and the Cardinals Audio Stream. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Click here to purchase your tickets.

About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:

Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product.