ST. LUCIÉ METS AT TAMPA TARPONS

TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Two teams with identical 11-14 records meet Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field when the St. Lucié Mets visit the Tampa Tarpons at 6:30 p.m.

St. Lucié is expected to start right-hander Jose Chirinos (1-0), while left-hander J.T. Etheridge (1-0) is also available. The Mets have won three of their past four games, including an 8-1 victory at Tampa on Friday. However, the Tarpons have taken three of four in the season series, with wins April 29 (7-4 in seven innings, then 7-6 in eight innings) and April 30 (8-5).

A player to watch for St. Lucié is right-hander Cam Tilly, who has been dominant in recent outings. Tilly threw six innings of four-hit ball with one earned run and six strikeouts Friday against Tampa. He also tossed five scoreless innings April 4 at Palm Beach. For Tampa, right-hander Brennan Stuprich takes the mound after allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts in four innings Friday, though he took the loss. In that game, St. Lucié’s AJ Salgado went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, and Ryan Dollar struck out six in two scoreless innings. Tampa’s Enmanuel Tejeda went 3-for-4 with a homer and an RBI.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-3 Tampa victory, and its ELO system gives the Tarpons a 51.7 percent probability of winning.

The teams close their series Sunday before St. Lucié travels to Lakeland for six games Tuesday through Sunday. Tampa visits Fort Myers for a six-game set beginning Tuesday.