Tortugas Advance to FSL Finals with 2-0 Win over Mets

Published on September 12, 2025 under Florida State League (FSL)
St. Lucie Mets News Release

St. Lucie Mets pitcher Jonathan Jimenez
(St. Lucie Mets)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – The Daytona Tortugas completed a series comeback with a 2-0 victory over the St. Lucie Mets in the deciding game 3 of the Florida State League East Division playoff on Friday night at Clover Park.

Daytona will now advance to the best-of-three FSL Championship Series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Sunday.

Four Tortugas pitchers combined to limit the Mets to two hits while striking out 11 batters. Starter Mason Morris pitched 3.0 hitless innings. Drew Pestka followed with 3.0 one-hit innings to get the win. Edgar Colon struck out three batters over the seventh and eighth innings. Trent Hodgdon struck out the side in the ninth to end the game and the series.

The Mets scored two runs in the first inning of game 2 on Thursday and did not score again over the final 17 innings of the series.

Mets reliever Jonathan Jimenez walk three of the first four batters he faced in the third inning to load the bases. Arnaldo Lantigua hit a sac fly to give the Tortugas a 1-0 lead.

Jimenez settled down and did not allow a hit until Alfredo Alcantara hit a leadoff homer in the seventh inning for a 2-0 Daytona lead.

Mets pitchers worked out of three bases loaded jams and held the Tortugas to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They stranded 11 Tortugas on base.

Unfortunately for the Mets their offense never got going. They only produced five base runners and didn’t get multiple runners on base at the same time until the seventh inning with two outs.

Antonio Jimenez went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk. He hit his double with one out in the fourth inning and represented the tying run. But Pestka struck out AJ Salgado and got Randy Guzman to ground out to protect the lead.

Mets starter Truman Pauley pitched 2.0 scoreless innings. He stranded the bases loaded in the second inning by getting a shallow fly out and a strikeout of Rafhlmil Torres.

Jimenez took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits over 4.0 innings.

Wilson Lopez pitched 0.2 scoreless innings.

Garrett Stratton pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to finish the game on the mound for the Mets.

Daytona is now 3-0 all time in playoff series vs. St. Lucie.

Fans can stay up to date with all things St. Lucie Mets throughout the offseason on stluciemets.com and our social channels @stluciemets.

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