The St. Lucie Mets committed five errors and gave up 17 hits in a 15-3 loss to the Jupiter Hammerheads on Camp Day at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Jupiter scored in each of its final seven innings at the plate, steadily pulling away after the Mets grabbed an early lead.
Antonio Jimenez put St. Lucie ahead 2-1 with a two-run homer in the third inning, his second home run in the last three games and his fifth of the season with the Mets. The lead did not last. Jupiter answered with four runs in the bottom of the third to go up 5-2, keyed by a two-run single from Max Williams and an RBI double from Nixon Chirinos.
Jackson Hauge trimmed the deficit to 5-3 with a two-out RBI single in the fourth, but that was the last Mets hit until Elian Peña singled with one out in the eighth. In between, Jupiter reliever Elier Morillo retired all 10 batters he faced, striking out seven.
The Hammerheads kept adding on, scoring two in the fourth, two in the fifth and four in the sixth, the last punctuated by a three-run homer from Chirinos off Caden Wooster.
All nine Jupiter starters reached base and eight collected hits. Leadoff man Luis Cova went 4 for 5, a triple shy of the cycle, while Williams finished 2 for 5 with a homer, three RBI and three runs. For St. Lucie, Peña, Branny De Oleo and Francisco Toledo each went 2 for 4.
Mets starter Christian Rodriguez took the loss, charged with five runs on eight hits over three innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
The Mets (4-12, 37-45) and Hammerheads (7-11, 44-40) continue their series Friday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.