Tarpons defeat Mets 8-3

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (August 21, 2018) - The Tampa Tarpons defeated the St. Lucie Mets 8-3 on Tuesday at First Data Field.
Despite the loss, it was a productive day for a pair of rehabbing players. David Wright went 1 for 4 with a RBI single and he played seven uneventful innings at third base. Jay Bruce went 3 for 4 with a double and a run. Bruce played all nine innings in right field and caught three routine fly balls.
Tampa pitcher Deivi Garcia stifled the Mets for the most part. He tossed six effective innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He walked one and struck out two. He earned his first FSL win of the season.
Tarpons leadoff hitter Estevan Florial went 3 for 4 with a home run, double, walk, two RBI and two runs. He fell a triple short of the cycle.
No. 2 hitter Diego Castillo reached base in all five of his plate appearances. He walked three times and hit a double and a single.
Seven of Tampa's eight runs came on two-out hits. Dom Thompson-Williams delivered the big blow with a two-out, three-run homer off of Mets starter Anthony Kay in the second inning. That long ball made it 5-0.
Jay Bruce led off the bottom of the second with a double. He would go on to score on a Luis Carpio RBI single.
The Mets trailed 7-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Wright came up for the fourth time. He drove a two-out RBI single into left field that plated Dan Rizzie. Jacob Zanon then scored from third base on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 7-3.
Florial hit his homer in the eighth for the final margin.
Jeremy Vasquez went 3 for 4 with a double for the Mets.
The Mets (24-32, 51-72) and Tarpons (27-30, 62-65) play the middle game of their series at First Data Field on Wednesday. First pitch is 6:30 p.m.