Mets come back from 7 down, beat Tortugas 12-8

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 18, 2026) – The St. Lucie Mets overcame a 7-0 deficit to beat the Daytona Tortugas 12-8 on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Both teams have now lost a game in the series when leading 7-0. The Mets have won two in a row to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Mets scored runs in five of their last six innings at the plate. They tied the game 8-8 in the eighth inning when Sam Robertson hit a ground ball to third base that Tyson Lewis misplayed for an error, allowing Francisco Toledo to score.

The Mets scored four runs in the ninth off reliever Abraham Gaitan. Toledo hit a go-ahead RBI single to deep left field to give the Mets their first lead, 9-8.

Vladi Gomez followed with a RBI double to make it 10-8. Elian Peña capped the inning with a two-run single for a 12-8 Mets lead.

Tyler McLoughlin walked two batters in the bottom of the ninth but struck out Anthuan Valencia to end the game.

Miguel Mejias pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his team debut to get the win.

Daytona’s Henry Hunter hit a grand slam off Met starter Cam Tilly in the second inning and Bernard Moon hit a two-run homer later in the inning to make it 7-0.

The Mets would score five straight runs, all unearned, in the fourth and fifth innings after the Tortugas made critical errors in the field.

Meanwhile, Mets pitching only allowed one run on a wild pitch from the third through ninth innings.

Chase Meggers went 3 for 4 with a double, walk, RBI and two runs scored.

Toledo went 2 for 4 with a walk, RBI and two runs.

Simon Juan and Peña each went 2 for 5.

The Mets (7-7) and Tortugas (5-9) conclude their series at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is 1:05 p.m.