Palm Beach 3 - St. Lucie 2

The Palm Beach Cardinals scored a late run to edge the St. Lucie Mets 3-2 on Friday at First Data Field.

With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, Magneuris Sierra bunted a ball back to pitcher Johnny Magliozzi, who made a wild throw to first base that resulted in Sierra reaching third. Then with two outs, Edmundo Sosa legged out an infield hit, allowing Sierra to score to give the Cardinals the decisive 3-2 lead.

John Mora nearly played hero for the Mets with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He hooked a ball just foul down the right field line that would have gone for a game-winning home run if it stayed fair. Reliever Landon Beck recovered by striking out Mora on the next pitch to end the game.

Palm Beach jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth on and RBI single by Chris Chinea and a run-scoring ground out from Austin Wilson.

The Mets put together a two-out rally in the sixth to tie the game. Patrick Mazeika’s infield hit scored Vinny Siena. Jhoan Urena followed with a RBI double that made it 2-2.

Mets starter Thomas McIlraith limited the Cardinals to one run in three innings. Kevin Canelon pitched the next three innings, allowing one run while striking out five.

Enmanuel Zabala collected two hits for the second straight game.

Siena added a double.

Cardinals starter Zac Gallen struck out nine Mets over 5.1 innings in a no-decision.

The two teams combined to strike out 24 times.

The Mets (0-2) will seek their first win when they travel to Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday to face the Cardinals (2-0). First pitch is 5:30 p.m. Justin Dunn, the 19^th overall pick by the Mets in last year’s draft, will get the start.