Dominic Hamel, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

The St. Lucie Mets rode the bat of Carlos Dominguez and the arm of Dominic Hamel to their 31st win of the season. Dominguez would slash three hits and drive in three runs while Hamel would hold Daytona to just one run in six innings of work and would strike out eight.

Syracuse Mets (15-33) 5 vs. Worchester Red Sox (25-25) 6   BOX SCORE 

The Syracuse Mets fell behind 6-1 by the end of the fifth inning, but the Mets wouldn’t let the Red Sox get an easy win in this one. The Mets put together a three-run seventh to cut the lead to two and then put another run on the board in the eighth to make it a one-run game. Unfortunately, that would wind up being the final score as the rally would ultimately fall just short in a 6-5 loss.

Five Met players would tally an RBI, including newly acquired JT Riddle. Khalil Lee and Nick Meyer each had a double along with an RBI and Mark Vientos began the month of June the same way he had played the entire month of May, by staying hot and gathering a hit and a walk.

After an ugly outing in San Francisco with the Major League club, Thomas Szapucki was sent down to Syracuse. While he would fare much better in this game, it still wasn’t the most ideal performance as Szapucki would only last four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks while being saddled with the loss, his fourth of the season.

Relievers Michel Otanez and Bryce Montes de Oca would both make their Triple-A debuts and each would have an equally as impressive outing. Otanez would get into a bit of trouble in his inning of work, allowing two walks, but left unscathed with a shutout inning along with two strikeouts. Montes de Oca would have a perfect first outing with Syracuse as he set down all three batters he’d face in the eighth.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (17-28) had their game against Somerset (29-16) postponed. It will be made up in a doubleheader on June 2nd. 

Brooklyn Cyclones (20-24) 5 vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws (17-28) 8   BOX SCORE

Things started wonderfully for the Cyclones in this game thanks to a three-run double by JT Schwartz in the third followed by a Rowdey Jordan home run in the fifth which would stake Brooklyn to a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Cyclones would only score one run the rest of the game as Jersey Shore would score eight in an 8-5 loss in the Garden State.

Garrison Bryant flirted with danger in his first two innings of work when he allowed two doubles and multiple runners to get into scoring position. He would dance out of danger each time and then seemed to find his groove as he would retire the side in order in the third and fourth inning and seemed well on his way to doing it in the fifth starting it off with two strikeouts.

However, a dropped strike three allowed D.J. Stewart to each on base and from there, things would unravel in a hurry. Three straight Jersey Shore singles would signal the end of the night for Bryant. Justin Courtney wouldn’t provide much relief out of the bullpen as he would allow the BlueClaws to tie the game up in the fifth and then allow them to tack on another four runs in the sixth. It would be all Jersey Shore would need in handing Brooklyn a tough 8-5 loss.

Daytona Tortugas (19-28) 1 vs. St. Lucie Mets (31-16) 7   BOX SCORE

  • CF Alex Ramirez: 1-for-5, R, 2B, .313/.349/.467
  • DH Carlos Dominguez: 3-for-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, .264/.340/.536
  • C Vincent Perozo: 1-for-3, 3B, 2 RBI, .111/.250/.333

The Mets beat Daytona for the second straight night behind ten hits and seven runs. The bulk of the offense was provided by Carlos Dominguez who continues to have a season to remember so far with a three-hit performance which also included three RBIs. Highly touted outfield prospect, Alex Ramirez also continues to impress in St. Lucie with a double in this game, his eleventh of the season, and has held his average above .300 for the first two months of the season.

Also worth noting, Vincent Perozo collected his first hit in Single-A, an RBI triple in the fifth which would score Dominguez. He also had his first Single-A RBI in the third inning on a sacrifice fly.

  • RHP Dominic Hamel: (W,3-1) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO, 4.26 ERA
  • RHP Dedniel Núñez: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA
  • RHP Dylan Hall: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2.12 ERA

There’s no place like home for Dominic Hamel. In four starts in St. Lucie, he has a 2-0 record, an ERA of 2.57, and has held opponents to an average of .213. Compare that to his 6.35 on the road and it’s clear the Hamel favors St. Lucie over any other ballpark in the Sunshine State. This game would be no different as Hamel would tie a career-high with six innings pitched, allowing just one run and striking out eight on the way to his third win of the season.

Meanwhile, the bullpen would keep Daytona off the board in the final three innings as Núñez and Hall would combine to throw three perfect innings to wrap up the win. Dedniel Núñez, who hadn’t pitched professionally since 2019 continues to be a bit of a feel-good, story as in his second appearance in relief he once again allowed no runs and struck out four of the six batters he faced. He hit 97 mph during his outing.