Lower Minors: Plawecki Stays Hot For Savannah, T.J. Rivera Leads Offense For St. Lucie

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Savanahh Sand Gnats 3, Rome Braves 3

Spartacus isn’t the only person raging war against Rome these days, Kevin Plawecki has been mounting his own campaign the past couple of nights against the Rome Braves. Plawecki added another two hits in Saturday night’s game, bringing his season hit total to six, and his batting average to .545 on the year.

Plawecki drove in the first run of the game for the Gnats in the first inning, then Jeffrey Glenn drove in two more on a double in the fourth inning. Glenn and Plawecki were the only two Gnats with a multi-hit game.

The Gnats jumped out to three-to-nothing lead on the Braves, but they were not able to hang on to it, as the Braves exploded in the fifth inning to score five runs, highlighted by Braves No. 3 hitter Josh Elander, who smashed a three-run home run to break the game open.

Gnats starting pitcher Steven Matz held the Braves scoreless through the first four innings, but was removed in the fifth inning when he was unable to retire an out. He looked as if he was laboring, but he still managed to strike out six and scattered four hits before he was replaced by Jake Keubler in the fifth. Kuebler picked up the loss, as the Braves got all the runs they would need in that fifth inning, and the Gnats offense went cold.

Key Stats

Kevin Plawecki – 2 for 3, R, RBI, BB
Jeffrey Glenn – 2 for 2, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Brandon Nimmo – 1 for 4, 1 R
Steven Matz – 4 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 ER

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St. Lucie Mets 6, Jupiter Hammerheads 1

It was a pitcher’s dual to start the game down in Jupiter, as the Mets only managed one hit through the first five innings of play and battled the Hammerheads to see who the first team to score would be. Jacob deGrom started the game for the Mets and picked up the win. He twirled a gem, holding the Hammerheads scoreless in six innings of work, while striking out six.

In the sixth inning, the Mets’ offense finally started showing signs of life when T.J. Rivera slashed a double down the right field line. Rivera advanced to third base on an error by Hammerhead right fielder Ryan Goetz. Rivera was immediately driven in by Matt Reynolds, who legged out an infield single, to break the scoreless tie.

In the seventh inning, the Mets’ offense exploded, and the man to do the damage once again, was Rivera. With runners in scoring position, Rivera delivered a line-drive up the middle to drive in two runs. On a side note, Mets’ catcher Albert Cordero also hit a bomb to right-center field, which bounced over the fence for a ground rule double. Cordero, who had been a right-handed hitter for his entire career, decided to start hitting left-handed in the off-season. It was Cordero’s first hit as a St. Lucie Met.

Cameron Maron continued his hot hitting, and has had a hit in the first three games of the season. Through those three games, he has only struck out once.

Matt Reynolds flashed some leather early in the game, ranging to make a nice play that most shortstops wouldn’t have made.

Key Stats