McCann homers late to lift Tarpons past Mets
St. Lucie drops 9th straight game, Tampa win 8th straight
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (July 4, 2026) – The Tampa Tarpons stunned the St. Lucie Mets by scoring six unearned runs in the eighth inning and surging ahead for 10-3 victory on Independence Day at Clover Park. The Tarpons won their eighth straight game while the Mets dropped their ninth in a row.
The Mets led 3-1 entering the eighth inning. Tampa took advantage of four errors in the inning to score six unearned runs. Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek hit a ground ball to third baseman Branny De Oleo with two outs in the inning. The ball deflected off De Oleo’s mitt for an error and Hans Montero scored to tie the game 3-3.
The inning continued until eventually David McCann hit a three-run homer off Conner Ware to put the Tarpons up 6-3.
McCann would hit another three-run homer in the ninth off Luis Alvarez to make it 10-3. McCann went 3 for 4 with two homers, a single, a walk and seven RBI. He went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts the previous game.
The Mets trailed 1-0 early but tied the game in the fourth inning a RBI ground out by Simon Juan.
Chase Meggers delivered a two-out RBI single against Tyler Boudreau in the fifth inning to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.
Juan belted a solo homer vs. Boudreau in the sixth increase the Mets lead to 3-1.
Ware had pitched three scoreless innings leading into the eighth to keep the Mets in front. However, he ended up taking a tough luck loss. He pitched 3.2 innings and was charged with five runs (all unearned).
Tampa reliever Jose M. Rodriguez pitched a perfect seventh inning to get credit for the win.
The Mets (2-10, 35-43) and Tarpons (11-3, 46-34) play the finale of their six-game series at Clover Park on Sunday. First pitch is set for 12:10 p.m. It’s Little League Day. All little leaguers who wear their jerseys receive free admission and a gift courtesy of Holiday Inn Express.