Palm Beach Snaps Skid with 6-1 Victory Over St. Lucie Saturday Night

JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (25-27; 57-60) leaned on outstanding pitching and productive hitting to defeat the St. Lucie Mets (36-17; 70-48) by the final score of 6-1 on Saturday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach pitching struck out 16 Mets hitters in the victory.

Tanner Franklin pitched a scoreless top of the first inning in his professional debut and capped off the inning with his first strikeout.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Cardinals put two runs on the board to get the scoring started. Matthew Miura walked on four pitches to lead off the inning and Jack Gurevitch ripped an RBI single. Mets starting pitcher Oliver Ortega (L, 0-1) hit Rainiel Rodriguez with a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Cameron Nickens plated the first run with an RBI fielder’s choice and Christian Martin followed with a sacrifice fly to give Palm Beach a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.

Franklin struck out the side on 14 pitches in the top of the second inning. After a walk to lead off the third inning, his day came to an end as he allowed only one hit and one walk with four strikeouts over two-plus scoreless innings in a no-decision.

Palm Beach added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning. Nickens started the inning with a leadoff single, the third consecutive frame with a leadoff baserunner for the Cardinals. Later in the inning, Jose Suarez hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher’s mound. St. Lucie relief pitcher Daviel Hurtado’s throw to first went wild, which allowed Nickens to score from first base. Another error and a Ryan Weingartner RBI groundout brought Suarez home from second base to extend Palm Beach’s lead to 4-0 through three innings.

Both teams came up scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings. Bernard Mack (W, 1-0) did a solid job in long relief out of the Palm Beach bullpen for his second Single-A appearance. However, the Mets finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning. After two quick outs from Mack, a walk and a hit-by-pitch set the table for Yonatan Henriquez who hit an RBI double. Alan Reyes (H, 2) got the final out of the frame and stranded two inherited runners in scoring position and the Cardinals held a 4-1 lead.

Palm Beach got the run right back in the bottom of the sixth inning. A pair of walks allowed by St. Lucie relief pitcher Bryce Jenkins put runners on the corners with two outs. Rodriguez came through with an RBI single to center field to put the Cardinals back ahead by a score of 5-1 through six innings.

After a shutdown top of the seventh inning from Reyes, the Cardinals tacked on insurance in the bottom of the frame. Back-to-back singles by Martin and Suarez put runners at the corners with one out. Michael Dattalo came through with an RBI groundout to extend Palm Beach’s lead to 6-1 through seven innings.

The bullpen continued to hold down the lead for Palm Beach in the final two innings of the game. Reyes racked up seven strikeouts over 2 1/3 scoreless innings pitched. Charles Harrison pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning to put the finishing touches on a 6-1 win. With Daytona beating Bradenton earlier today, the Cardinals remain two-and-a-half games behind the Tortugas for a playoff spot with 13 games remaining in the regular season.

The Cardinals and Mets will play one final time in the regular season in the series finale on Sunday, August 24^th with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Palm Beach Cardinals broadcast coverage begins at 5:50 p.m. on the MiLB App, MiLB.TV, Bally Sports Live, and the Cardinals Audio Stream. Gates will open at 5:00 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.