St. Lucie 4, Charlotte 2
Even without Dustin Lawley, the St. Lucie Mets found a way to remain in the hunt for a postseason berth. Backed by another strong performance from their starting pitcher — this time Angel Cuan — the Mets kept their slim playoff hopes alive following a 4-2 win over the Stone Crabs on Tuesday night at Tradition FIeld.
St. Lucie (68-59) plated a pair of runs in each of the first two innings of the game but the club’s pitching staff made the tight margin hold up to help the Mets pull to within five games of Charlotte (64-63) in the FSL South Division. The teams conclude the three-game set Wednesday as the final week of the regular season rapidly approaches.
Lawley, the Florida State League Player of the Year, was moved to Triple-A Las Vegas earlier Tuesday — a tremendous jump for the 24-year-old who had been bypassed for promotions throughout the season. He departed the Class A Advanced level as the league leader with 25 home runs to go along with 92 RBI in 122 games.
But St. Lucie has remained in contention recently due its pitching and received another stellar outing from Cuan (6-3) in his second start since rejoining the rotation earlier this month. The left-hander permitted just two solo homers to Charlotte outfielder Willie Argo in the first and sixth innings. Overall, he yielded five hits and two walks while racking up four strikeouts during his first win since July 21st, out of the bullpen.
Catcher Kevin Plawecki returned from a one-game absence and was one of four Mets players to drive in a run. Designated hitter Jayce Boyd was the only hitter to notch two hits, as he improved his batting average to .284 with his second multi-hit performance in the past three games. T.J. Chism closed out the Stone Crabs for the second night in a row to give him a stellar 19 saves on the year.
The Mets will attempt to complete the series sweep Wednesday as Alex Panteliodis (6-5, 4.52) is slated to take the mound for St. Lucie. However, one more loss and the Mets are eliminated from postseason play.