De Los Santos walk-off homer defeats Hammerheads

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (September 1, 2022) – St. Lucie outfielder Omar De Los Santos hit a two-run walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Mets to a dramatic 7-5 win over the Jupiter Hammerheads on Thursday at Clover Park.

The home run by De Los Santos was the first hit for the Mets since Vincent Perozo hit a leadoff homer in the fourth inning. Brad Malm broke a string of 15 consecutive Mets retired with a walk in the ninth to bring De Los Santos to the plate. De Los Santos battled Yeuris Jimenez to a full count, then golfed a low slider just over the wall in left field that cleared the glove of Jake Thompson.

It was the 15th homer of the season for De Los Santos, who also has 22 doubles and 70 stolen bases in 108 games with St. Lucie.

The Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first four innings. Junior Tilien hit a RBI triple off Sandro Bargallo for a 1-0 lead in the first, then D’Andre Smith lofted a sac fly to bring home Tilien for a 2-0 advantage.

Perozo laced a run-scoring single second inning for a 3-0 lead.

Raul Beracierta smashed a RBI double in the third inning to make it 4-0.

Perozo hit his first home run with St. Lucie in the fourth inning for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Mets starting pitcher Javier Atencio tossed four shutout innings in his first start off the IL.

The Hammerheads got back into the game against the Mets bullpen in the fifth when Cameron Barstad hit a sac fly off Douglas Orellana.

Orellana walked the first two batters of the sixth, then new reliever Kolby Kubichek walked his first batter to load the bases. Jake Thompson hit a two-run single to make it 5-3. Javier Sanoja hit a run-scoring ground out, then Barstad hit a two-out game-tying single.

Kubichek kept the Hammerheads off the board in the seventh and eighth innings. Josh Cornielly worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to keep the game tied 5-5. Cornielly (4-3) was credited with the win.

Jupiter relievers Manuel Medina and Jimenez were combining to pitch 4.2 hitless innings until the De Los Santos homer ended the night.

The Mets (69-52, 29-27) and Hammerheads (58-62, 24-32) continue their series at Clover Park on Friday. It’s Bark in the Park! Fans can bring their dogs to the game for $3. Proceeds go to the St. Lucie County Humane Society. It’s also Back to School Night. All K-12 students, school employees and first responders get a free ticket. First pitch is 6:10 p.m.