TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Christian Rodriguez pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn his first win as the St. Lucie Mets defeated the Tampa Tarpons 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Mets, who improved to 13-15, built an early lead with two runs in the second inning on Branny De Oleo’s two-run double. Tampa answered with three runs in the bottom half, capped by Luis Durango’s fielder’s choice that scored Kevin Verde. The Tarpons added single runs in the third and fifth to go ahead 6-2.

St. Lucie rallied in the sixth, plating three runs — including a run-scoring single by JT Benson and a run on a caught stealing — to tie the game. The Mets took the lead for good in the eighth on Randy Guzman’s RBI double and Julio Zayas’ run-scoring double.

Rodriguez (1-0) tossed three hitless innings with three strikeouts. Nicolas Carreno struck out five in three innings. For Tampa, Matthew Tippie (2-2) took the loss. Brando Mayea added a double for the Tarpons, who fell to 12-15. The game drew 598 fans and lasted 3 hours, 8 minutes.