St. Lucie 5, Charlotte 4

The Mets rallied with a five-run fourth inning and held off the Charlotte Stone Crabs 5-4 on Wednesday at Tradition Field.

The Mets have won seven of their last eight games and closed the first half of the season with four consecutive wins and a three-game sweep of Charlotte.

Robbie Shields had two hits, including a leadoff home run in the fourth to cut the deficit to 2-1. Gilbert Gomez had an RBI single to tie the score. Matt den Dekker, who finished 0-for-3, had an RBI sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. T.J. Rivera and Dustin Lawley each had RBI singles in the fourth.

Rainy Lara struck out back-to-back hitters with the bases loaded and one out to close his outing. Lara earned his first win in the Florida State League and allowed three runs and seven hits over five innings while walking two and striking out seven.

Carlos Vazquez allowed one run and one hit with no walks and two strikeouts in two innings. Chasen Bradford pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. T.J. Chism struck out Richie Shaffer looking with runners at first and third to earn his eighth save.

The Mets will visit Palm Beach in the series opener on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Domingo Tapia will make the start for the Mets.

Key Stats

Matt den Dekker: 0-for-3, 1 RBI

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-4, 1 RBI

Robbie Shields: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

Gilbert Gomez: 2-for-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R

Rainy Lara: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 3 ER, 7 K

Carlos Vazquez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 ER, 2 K

Chasen Bradford: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K

T.J. Chism: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 K

(Team Report)