Offense breaks out, Mets survive 9-8 at Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. (April 9, 2019) - The St. Lucie Mets outlasted the Tampa Tarpons 9-8 in a wild affair at Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday.
The Mets trailed 3-1 after five innings, opened up an 8-4 lead in the eighth inning, then had to get out of jams in the bottom of the eighth and bottom of the ninth to preserve one-run leads.
Desmond Lindsay and Cody Bohanek both went 4 for 5. Quinn Brodey went 2 for 5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs. Blake Tiberi was 2 for 4 with a double.
Brodey turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning.
Carlos Cortes knocked a two-out, two-run single in the eighth that opened up an 8-4 lead.
The Tarpons charged back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Tyler Hill worked a bases loaded walk and Matt Pita followed with a two-run double to cut the Mets lead to 8-7. Reliever Joe Cavallaro recovered by getting a fly out to strand two in scoring position.
Lindsay started the ninth with a double and scored on Bohanek's single for a key insurance run that made it 9-7.
Blake Taylor came on in the bottom of the ninth for the save attempt. He walked two and allowed a run-scoring single to Dermis Garcia. Taylor settled down and got a ground ball to third baseman Todd Frazier who started a double play.
Taylor then struck out Donny Sands to preserve the win and pick up his second save.
Yeizo Campos was credited with the win. He gave up one unearned run over three innings of relief.
Starter Kevin Smith was charged with three runs over four innings. He walked three but rebounded to strike out two in his final inning.
Frazier, playing in his fifth rehab game, was 1 for 5 with a RBI single and two strikeouts.
The nine runs scored matched the Mets total offensive runs scored through the first five games.
The Mets (3-3) and Tarpon (2-4) play the third game of their series on Wednesday. First pitch from Steinbrenner Field is 6:30 p.m.