Mets pull off improbable comeback, beat Tortugas 7-6

DAYONTA BEACH, Fla. (August 18, 2024) – The St. Lucie Mets rallied from a 6-0 fifth inning deficit to stun the Daytona Tortugas with a 7-6 victory in the series finale at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday evening. The Mets won the series 4-2.

The Mets overcame 12 walks from their pitching staff. Despite the walks the five Mets pitchers limited the Tortugas to five hits and held Daytona to 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

The Mets did not get their first hit until a one-out single by Colin Houck in the fifth inning. Trailing 6-0 in the sixth, the Mets got on the board on a RBI ground out by Ronald Hernandez. Eli Serrano followed with a two-out, two-run homer to make it 6-3 and spark the comeback. It was Serrano’s first career home run.

The Mets sent nine to the plate and scored four runs on five hits in the seventh inning. Yonatan Henriquez started the scoring with a RBI single off Jonah Hurney that made it 6-4. Hernandez belted a two-run single to tie the game 6-6. Serrano punched an 0-2 pitch from Hurney to left field to bring home Henriquez and give the Mets a 7-6 lead.

Saul Garcia, who pitched a scoreless sixth, pitched a 1-2-3 seventh with the new lead. Garcia also pitched the eighth. He got the win after tossing 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.

Cristofer Gomez walked the leadoff batter in the ninth but erased that when he induced a double play off the bat of Ryan McCrystal out to Henriquez at shortstop. Gomez struck out Trey Faltine to end the game. He earned his second one-run save of the series.

It was the second biggest comeback for the Mets this season. They overcame an 8-0 deficit at Palm Beach in a 10-8 win on June 28^th.

Serrano led the Mets at the plate by going 2 for 4 with three RBI.

The Mets (17-29, 39-73) are off on Monday. They return to the diamond on Tuesday when they begin a six-game home series against the Palm Beach Cardinals. First pitch at Clover Park on Tuesday is 6:10 p.m.