The London Mets converted on its chances with runners on base in Friday night’s second game, which proved to be the game’s deciding factor, in a 5-2 win over the host Stuttgart Reds.
Stuttgart opened the game’s scoring in the bottom of the first, when Jonas Van Bergen reached on an error and later moved around to third on a botched London Mets pickoff play. Greg Kettle hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 1-0 Reds.
The Mets countered in the top of the second inning, when, with two outs, Aidan Pearce cashed in Joe Perez on a line drive to left field, and Graydon Koyanagi hit a two-RBI single to center to give London a 3-1 lead.
The Reds squandered two opportunities in the bottom of the third and fourth, as they left five runners stranded on base. London added to its lead in the top of the fifth, when Perez singled and back-to-back walks loaded the bases and Nathan Kettle drove in two on his single to left field.
With a half inning remaining to play, Stuttgart loaded the bases with no outs, causing London to bring in Pearce to pitch. Lasse Liebig hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Frido Fink, but the other runners couldn’t advance a base. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the comeback attempt and gave London a 5-2 victory in the opening day nightcap.
Nathan Kettle and Koyanagi both recorded two RBI for London, while Perez paced the team with two runs scored. Fink recorded a multi-hit game for Stuttgart.
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