Port St. Lucie Mets: Hansel Robles Tosses Six Shutout Innings In 1-0 Win Over Charlotte Stone Crabs

Sunday’s Mets minor league pitcher of the day was Port St. Lucie’s Hansel Robles. Hansel pitched shutout baseball for six innings. He allowed a mere three hits, walked two batters, and struck out six Charlotte Stone Crabs to earn his second victory (2-1) of the season. So far, the Mets twenty-two year old pitching prospect has started four games, and stands at 21.2 innings pitched, in which he allowed seventeen hits, walked six, and struck out sixteen batters. After Sunday’s start, his earned run average dropped from 3.45, to a 2.49 mark.
Feb 21, 2013; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Hansel Robles (67) poses for a picture during photo day at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Last season, Robles was part of Brooklyn’s fearsome starting rotation. He made twelve appearances and posted a 6-1 record, with a stellar 1.11 ERA in 72.2 innings pitched. He limited opponents to only forty-seven hits. Combined with issuing ten walks, he ended the season with a minuscule 0.784 WHiP. By comparison, this year’s rate of 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings is down from last year’s 8.2 mark, and Hansel’s hits allowed per nine innings are slightly up from 5.8 last year, to an 8.0 rate this season.
St. Lucie went on the road for a quick three game series against the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Sunday, the Mets won the opener by a 1-0 final. Scoreless after four innings, the lone run of the game came in the fifth when catcher Cam Maron grounded into a fielder’s choice, which scored shortstop Robbie Shields, who earlier led off the frame with a walk.
The St. Lucie Mets had six hits on the day. Four were doubles. For the moment, the Port St. Lucie Mets currently do not sport a .300 hitter. The team’s top batter is T.J. Rivera, who slipped to a .299 mark after one hit in five at-bats Sunday against the Stone Crabs. Remarkably, T.J. Rivera leads the Eastern League with seventeen runs batted in, as a lead-off man.
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