NY METS 9, KANSAS CITY 8

Craig Paquette's one-out single in the bottom of the ninth capped a string of five straight hits and scored Preston Wilson with the game-winning run as the New York Mets edged the Kansas City Royals, 9-8, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Terrence Long began the rally against Jose Santiago (0-1) with a double before Paquette singled up the middle to score Wilson from third.

Mel Rojas (1-0) earned the victory for New York, despite allowing a two-run homer to Carlos Mendez in the ninth. The Mets rallied from a 5-1 deficit with eight runs over the final four innings.

Sal Fasano and Jeff Conine homered for Kansas City, which had 13 hits.