PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (July 1, 2026) – For the second straight game the Tampa Tarpons blanked the St. Lucie Mets by a score of 6-0 on Wednesday night at Clover Park. The Tarpons have won five in a row while the Mets have dropped a season-high six consecutive games.
Again it was a four pitcher effort for the Tarpons to complete the shutout. Starter Thatcher Hurd pitched 5.0 innings to get the win. He gave up just one hit, walked one batter and struck out six.
Relievers Brian Hendry (1.1 innings), Jose Martinez (1.2 innings) and Jordalin Mendoza (1.0 innings) finished off the shutout. Martinez retired all five batters he faced, three on strikeouts.
The Tarpons broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning when Jackson Lovich blooped a two-out RBI double off Mets reliever Jose Guevara to give the Tarpons a 1-0 lead.
Tampa started to pull away in the fifth inning when it scored three runs. Logan Maxwell tagged Guevara for a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Later in the inning David McCann hit a broken bat RBI single into center field against reliever Elwis Mijares to push the advantage to 4-0.
Tampa scored twice in the sixth inning. Jackson Lovich scored from first base on an error by right fielder Simon Juan on a single by Hans Montero. Maxwell hit a RBI single to plate Montero to make it 6-0.
Maxwell finished 3 for 4 with the homer, two singles, a walk and three RBI. Lovich went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles.
The Mets were limited to four hits, all singles. Branny De Oleo went 2 for 4. Trey Snyder and Julio Zayas had the other base knocks.
Guevara took the loss. He was charged with three runs (two earned) on four hits over 4.0 innings.
Ernesto Mercedes (1.1 innings) and Caden Wooster (1.0 innings) turned in scoreless appearances out of the Mets bullpen.
The Mets (2-7, 35-40) and Tarpons (8-3, 43-34) play the third game of their series at Clover Park on Thursday. First pitch is 6:10 p.m. Fans can enjoy $2 select beer, hot dogs, fountain soda and popcorn.