Wild finish at Clover Park, Mets walk-off Tarpons 9-8     

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 20, 2024) – The Lucie Mets won a wild game 9-8 over the Tampa Tarpons at Clover Park on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 2,842.

The Mets scored two runs in the eighth and two more runs in the ninth for the walk-off victory. It was their second walk-off win in eight home games and their third ninth-inning comeback of the season.

Trailing 8-7 in the ninth, Colin Houck started the Mets winning rally with a leadoff double against Art Warren. Ronald Hernandez followed with a walk with ball four coming on a pitch clock violation by Warren. That brought up Jesus Baez, who singled into left field. Houck stopped at third base but left fielder Dayro Perez threw the ball away near home plate, allowing Houck to score the tying run and pinch runner Donovan Antonia to scamper to third.

Vincent Perozo grounded the next pitch up the middle. It tipped off the glove of shortstop Roderick Arias, who picked up the ball and threw to third base instead of home. Antonia scored with ease to end the game and set off the victory celebration.

Yohairo Cuevas gave the Mets a much needed spark with a two-run, two-out double in the eighth to cut the Tampa lead from 8-5 to 8-7.

Wilson Lopez kept it a one-run game by stranding a runner at third base in a scoreless top of the ninth.

The Mets fell behind early as Tampa scored five runs in the second and two more in the third to build a 7-2 advantage. Tampa DH George Lombard Jr. recorded two-run, two-out hits in each inning.

The Mets started their slow comeback in the fourth on 434-foot solo home run by Chris Suero. It was his first homer of the season.

Perozo belted a RBI double in the fifth to make it a 7-5 game. The double extended Perozo’s hitting streak to six games.

Mets starter Zach Thornton needed just five pitches to get through the first inning but ran into trouble in the second. A key passed ball extended the inning and he was limited to 1.2 innings on the night. Four of the five runs Thornton allowed were unearned.

Jawilme Ramirez chipped in with 3.1 innings of relief. He held the Tarpons to two runs on three hits. Candido Cuevas escaped bases loaded jams in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the Mets in range.

The Mets (6-8) and Tarpons (4-10) wrap up their six-game series on Sunday. The Mets are aiming for the series victory. First pitch is slated for 12:10 p.m.