Fort Myers 11, St. Lucie 8

It was not a good day for the R.A. Dickey trade all around, as on the heels of the news to the injury of Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard had a rough time pitching for St. Lucie on Thursday evening. Syndergaard was in consideration for a promotion to Binghamton when Luis Mateo was placed on the DL – but was passed over in favor of Jacob deGrom, who shined in his debut on Wednesday night.

noah sybdergaard michael baronSyndergaard was left to make his scheduled start down in St. Lucie, but unfortunately for the young prospect, he ran into a bit of a wall. He lasted only three innings and was on the hook for seven earned runs off eight hits and two walks, while striking out two. He allowed one home run – a two-run jack in the first inning and never really looked comfortable after that. He allowed a lead-off double to begin the game to Adam Pettersen, who scored on the aforementioned two-run home run with two outs in the first. He gave up two hits in the second, but induced a double play to get out of it.

The third inning brought trouble for him again, however, where he struggled to get the third out once again. After allowing a lead-off single to Adam Pettersen again, he got the next two men out, although Pettersen stole second base. Syndergaard then allowed a walk, triple, single, walk, and double…ouch. The whole fiasco resulted in a five-run third inning and closing the door on Syndergaard’s evening.

St. Lucie overcame the 7-2 deficit by scoring five runs in the third inning, with the big blow coming on a two-run homer by Matt Reynolds, his first of the season. St. Lucie then took an 8-7 the lead in the fourth when Aderlin Rodriguez launched his third homer of the season – a solo job. However, the bullpen failed to get it done. After three hitless innings of solid relief from Jim Fuller, the next four relievers Wanel MesaHamilton Bennett and Randy Fontanez combined to surrender four runs over the final three innings.

Key Stats

Aderlin Rodriguez: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

Dustin Lawley: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R

Matt Reynolds: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI

Gilbert Gomez: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 K

Charles Thurber: 1-for-2, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Noah Syndergaard: 3.0 IP. 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 HR

Jim Fuller: 3.0 IP. 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Hamilton Bennett: 1.0 IP. 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K