Trey Snyder delivered a career day at the plate Sunday as the St. Lucie Mets held off a late Palm Beach Cardinals rally for an 8-6 victory at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Snyder went 4-for-5 with a home run, triple and five RBIs, helping St. Lucie win the three-game series two games to one.
After allowing the Cardinals to score first in each of the opening two games, the Mets took control with three runs in the first inning.
Randy Guzman opened the scoring with a 107 mph ground ball that Palm Beach third baseman Jonathan Mejia stopped but could not make a throw on, allowing Marco Vargas to score. Snyder followed with a two-run single that gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Ethan Lanthier worked through early traffic and completed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out four.
Tyler McLoughlin followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings and earned the victory, improving his record to 2-2. McLoughlin has allowed only one earned run over his last 12 appearances and has now recorded six consecutive scoreless outings.
St. Lucie added three more runs in the third inning when Snyder launched his second home run of the season. The three-run shot brought home Mike Tauchman and Guzman and extended the Mets' advantage to 6-0.
Snyder continued his strong afternoon with a triple in the seventh inning. Branny De Oleo then hit his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot that pushed St. Lucie's lead to 8-1.
Palm Beach made the game interesting in the bottom of the seventh.
Yairo Padilla hit his first home run of the season, a grand slam against Ernesto Mercedes, as the Cardinals scored five runs in the inning and cut the Mets' lead to 8-6.
Palm Beach brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth after Trevor Haskins was hit by a pitch. Miguel Mejias responded by striking out the next three batters to finish the game and earn his third save of the season.
St. Lucie pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts, marking the third consecutive game in which the Mets recorded double-digit strikeouts.
The Mets improved to 8-14 in the second half and 41-47 overall. Palm Beach fell to 13-10 in the second half and 65-43 overall.
St. Lucie will have an off day Monday before opening a new series against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.