MIAMI -- It took an injury in the ninth inning of the final Spring Training game to enable Robert Andino to make the Marlins' roster.

It took four pitches on Tuesday night for Andino to make his biggest impact in a Florida uniform.

The 23-year-old Miami native delivered a two-out walk-off home run in the 10th inning to propel the Marlins to a 5-4 win over the Mets in front of 15,117 fans who endured the 3-hour, 31-minute contest at Dolphin Stadium.

On his 82nd career at-bat, and his first of the season, Andino ripped a 2-1 Matt Wise pitch 371 feet into the left-field seats, giving the Marlins a measure of revenge after they were beaten, 7-2, on Opening Day.

To put Andino's situation into perspective, consider that the former second-round pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft has the misfortune of being a shortstop in an organization where Hanley Ramirez is ascending as one of the top players in the game.

"It's the [Derek] Jeter factor," said Marlins left-hander Scott Olsen, who was taken in the same Draft class as Andino. "Whoever is the Triple-A shortstop for New York, it's that kind of thing. What you look for from a guy like that coming in, when he gets his opportunity, you hope he makes the best of it. Tonight, he did that."

Because of Ramirez, Andino was destined to join Triple-A Albuquerque for the third straight season. However, on Saturday night, center fielder Alejandro De Aza suffered a high left ankle sprain on a collision in the outfield.

On Sunday, De Aza was placed on the disabled list, and Andino was brought up to be a utility infielder. Along with hitting his first big league homer, he experienced another first on Tuesday: playing third base for the first time either at the Major League or Minor League levels.

With manager Fredi Gonzalez maximizing his personnel in an extra-innings affair, Andino went to third in the top of the 10th out of necessity.

"He's taken ground balls [at third]," Gonzalez said. "He needs to be a utility guy. This year, he is more receptive in taking to it. In pregame drills, he takes balls at second base and short. And I hear he is a heck of a center fielder.

"Robert, he just kind of joined us the last three days, the last guy to be added on the roster. He's got to feel good."

Actually, after the game, Andino had to leave the stadium abruptly to tend to a personal family-related matter. After Gonzalez addressed the media, Andino had already left the stadium.

Andino's heroics were praised by his teammates, including Ramirez.

"It should help his confidence," Ramirez said. "It was big, his first home run."

Reminded that Andino has long been waiting in the wings of Ramirez, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said, "The hero rides in the wings of the star."

Andino's home run was Florida's first walk-off shot since Josh Willingham went deep against the Dodgers on May 10, 2007.

After being roughed up on Opening Day, to respond with a win was gratifying for a team still maturing.

"We're going to keep fighting every day," Ramirez said. "That's all we can control. That's it."

The Marlins jumped out to a four-run lead in the second inning, powered by Dan Uggla's two-run homer and Luis Gonzalez's first shot as a Marlin -- the 347th of his 18-year career.

Neither starter made it as far as four full innings. Rick VandenHurk was lifted after three-plus innings, giving up three runs on six hits while running up 76 pitches. Pedro Martinez, meanwhile, exited after 3 1/3 innings when he suffered a strained left hamstring during a pitch to catcher Matt Treanor in the fourth inning. He was immediately removed for Jorge Sosa.

With both starters out of the game early, the bullpens were taxed. Florida used six relievers, while New York relied on five.

A concern for the Marlins is overworking their relief corps, and after two games, they've combined to log 11 of 19 innings.

The game began with a scare for the Marlins. Leading off the first inning, Ramirez was struck in the left triceps by an 86-mph Martinez fastball.

After doubling over in pain and favoring his left arm, the Marlins shortstop remained in the game. He scored one batter later on Uggla's two-run homer. Yet, while rounding third, the 24-year-old was shaking his left arm to keep loose. In his next at-bat, with two outs in the second inning, Ramirez was wearing an elbow pad.

In the second inning, VandenHurk worked out of a first-and-third situation by striking out Martinez in a 12-pitch showdown. Martinez had a stretch of fouling off five straight pitches with the count at 2-2. In all, he fouled seven pitches before going down swinging.

In the bottom of the second inning, Luis Gonzalez jumped on an 0-1 Martinez offering and connected on a home run to right-center. With two outs in the second inning, Ramirez laced an RBI triple to right-center, giving VandenHurk a four-run cushion.

The Mets strung together four straight singles to open the fourth inning, and had RBI hits from Angel Pagan and Brian Schneider. Jose Reyes added a sacrifice fly to round out the inning. A sacrifice fly by Pagan in the fifth inning pulled New York even at 4.

"It's just exciting right now," said reliever Justin Miller, who worked the 10th inning and recorded the victory. "That was a good first win for us. We can build off that. It was dramatic.

"We're all real happy and excited for [Andino]. He's been patient with Hanley ahead of him. He's a hometown kid who came up and did that."