Tilly, Ware shine in pro debuts as Mets clip Cardinals 1-0
JUPITER, Fla. (April 4, 2026) – The St. Lucie Mets received amazin’ performances from a trio of pitchers in a 1-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Mets rallied to win the series 2-1 after dropping the Opening Night contest on
JUPITER, Fla. (April 4, 2026) – The St. Lucie Mets received amazin’ performances from a trio of pitchers in a 1-0 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Mets rallied to win the series 2-1 after dropping the Opening Night contest on Thursday.
New York Mets 2025 draft picks Cam Tilly (7th round Auburn) and Conner Ware (15th round LSU) made their professional debuts. Tilly was outstanding, throwing 5.0 no-hit innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Ware pitched the final 3.0 innings, giving up just one single, walking one and striking out four. Tilly got the win and Ware the save.
Tilly came out firing, striking out the side in the first inning and striking out the first batter of the second.
The only batter to reach base against Tilly was Cam Nickens on a two-out walk in the second inning. Tilly then threw to second base to nail Nickens on a stolen base attempt to end the inning.
The Mets provided Tilly the only run he needed in the third inning. With two outs and the bases empty, Eddinson Paulino drew a walk against Palm Beach starter Jack Martinez. Martinez then fired an errant pickoff throw that allowed Paulino to race all the way to third base. Randy Guzman hit a RBI single just out of the reach of second baseman Trevor Haskins to bring home Paulino for the game’s only run.
Jose Marte, making a MiLB rehab appearance, surrendered a one-out single to Haskins in the sixth inning that broke up the no-hitter. Marte was otherwise sharp, throwing 11 of his 12 pitches for strikes and recording a strikeout as the bridge pitcher between Tilly and Ware.
Ware pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning. He dodged trouble in the eighth by striking out Heriberto Caraballo looking to end the inning and stranding two runners on base.
Ware pitched a perfect ninth with back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
Elian Pena and Julio Zayas both went 1 for 4 to extend their season-opening hitting streaks to three games.
The Mets (2-1) are off on Easter Sunday and on Monday. They will return to the diamond on Tuesday when they open a six-game homestand against the Dunedin Blue Jays. Home opener festivities on Tuesday include Silver Sluggers night, a meet-and-greet appearance with 1969 Miracle Mets member Art Shamsky and free baseball bingo for all fans to play. First pitch is 6:10 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.