Strom flies around bases, sparks Mets to victory

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (April 11, 2018) - For the second straight night, the St. Lucie Mets won a dramatic game over the Tampa Tarpons in their final at-bat.
Ian Strom played hero in the ninth by running wild on the bases to lift the Mets to a 4-3 win at First Data Field on Wednesday.
With the game tied 3-3, Strom started his own rally with a single against reliever Matt Frawley. Strom stole second and advanced to third when catcher Keith Skinner's throw skipped into center field. Strom then raced home for the winning run on the ensuing wild pitch from Frawley that bounced towards the Tarpons dugout.
Strom produced a similar inning in the seventh. The scored was 0-0 when he ripped a RBI double to put the Mets up 1-0. Strom then stole third base and came home an errant throw from the catcher Skinner to make it 2-0. The Mets later extended their lead to 3-0 on a Michael Paez RBI double.
The Tarpons rallied back to tie the game with three runs in the top of the eighth. Joe Zanghi came on in relief and settled the game down by getting a two fly outs to keep Tampa from taking a lead.
Zanghi stranded two more runners in the ninth. He earned the win.
Mets started Justin Dunn was excellent again in his second outing of the season. He did not allow a run in five innings and he struck out seven batters. He allowed two singles and walked three.
Dunn has now held teams scoreless in 10 innings and he has fanned 14 batters this season.
The Mets (3-4) and Tarpons (3-4) conclude their four-game series on Thursday. It will be Dollar Night at First Data Field. Fans can enjoy $1 cans of Bud Light and Budweiser, $1 hot dogs, $1 soda and $1 popcorn.
As part of Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Night, fans can get a free ticket if they bring two non-perishable food items to support the Treasure Coast Food Bank.
First pitch is 6:30 p.m.