Miracle defeat Mets 12-2 in season finale
PORT ST. LUCIE – The Fort Myers Miracle scored seven runs in a wild fourth inning and added five more in the eighth to cruise to a 12-2 victory Sunday over the St. Lucie Mets in the final game of the 2010 season.
The Miracle (36-32 second half) finished with an overall record of 64-74. They were 16-5 in their last 21 games, making a push to earn a playoff berth, but fell a few games short behind the Bradenton Marauders who clinched the second half of the Florida State League South Division. Bradenton and Charlotte will represent the division in the playoffs that Tuesday.
Tampa and Dunedin will square off in the North Division playoff series. The winners of those two best-of-three series collide in a best-of-five series to determine the 2010 FSL Champion.
Mets starter Brad Holt cruised through the first three innings before losing his control in the fourth. He issued four consecutive walks after hitting a batter and giving up a double to Nate Hanson. The righty also had four wild pitches in the inning to give the Miracle a 4-0 lead. Pedro P. Martinez came in from the bullpen and gave up another walk, an RBI single to Brian Dozier, and a two-RBI double to Deibinson Romero to cap off the inning.
Holt (2-9) took the loss, lasting only 3 1/3 while giving up seven earned runs on only three hits.
Miracle starter Alex Wimmers (2-0) was outstanding, striking out nine in five innings for the win. He extended his hitless innings streak to 10 2/3 before Michael Fisher picked up a one-out single in the fourth. Wimmers then gave up the first run in his professional career, an RBI single to John Semel in the fifth. In his short Miracle career, Wimmers has now given up just one earned run in 15 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, walking five and striking out 23.
The Miracle batted around their entire order twice, sending 12 the plate in the fourth and nine in the eighth. Deibinson Romero and Hanson continued to clobber the Mets in the series. Romero went 3-for-4 with three RBI and Hanson smacked his third three-run home run in his last four games.
Romero finished 8-for-12 with five in the series, and Hanson drove in seven total runs in the three games. He has 10 RBI in his last four games and finished the season with a team-high 11 home runs, nine of which came in the second half of the year.
Zach See of Estero pitched the final four innings to record a save in his Miracle debut.