The Jupiter Hammerheads rallied for three runs on three hits and two walks against closer Dakota Watts to pin a 6-5 defeat on the Fort Myers Miracle Sunday at Hammond Stadium.

Holding a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning, and only three outs away from a series win, Watts walked in the first run of the inning. Jeremy Synan singled home two more with the bases loaded to give the Hammerheads the final margin of victory.

Reliever A.J. Ramos tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to nail down his 11th save of the year.

Watts (2-2) took the loss, blowing just his second save opportunity in nine chances. Ramon Benjamin (3-0), who allowed one run in two innings of work, picked up the win.

The Miracle (29-28) remain in a first-place tie with the St. Lucie Mets with 13 games remaining in the season’s first half as the Mets lost to Palm Beach 3-2 Sunday.

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer joined the Miracle in his first rehabilitation start with the club this season. He went 1-for-4 with what would have been the game-winning RBI hit coming in the sixth inning. He also grounded out three times, including a double play. Mauer will catch Monday’s series finale against Jupiter while infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka is expected to join the team to make his first rehab start with the Miracle.

The Miracle rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the third by scoring five unanswered runs before Jupiter’s three-run ninth. After chipping away at the deficit with single runs in the third and fifth innings, the Miracle took the lead in the sixth.

After a sacrifice fly by Jhon Goncalves brought home the tying run, Mauer stepped in and lined a base hit into center field to give the Miracle the lead. The score would stay that way until the eighth inning when the Miracle added an insurance run on Nate Hanson’s RBI double.

Even though the Miracle scored five runs, they had 15 hits in the game and went just 5-for-19 with runners in scoring position, stranding 13 runners on the day.

The ninth inning collapse spoiled a win for Matt Schuld, who allowed just three runs in six solid innings of work. He struck out six and walked two. Jupiter starter Chad James gave up just two unearned runs in five innings as he remains 0-9 on the season.

The Miracle look to rebound and take the four-game series finale at 7:05 p.m. Monday.