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Johnson, Lawley Stay Hot In 7-5 St. Lucie Win

By Former Writers

July 22, 2013 No comments

721stlucie

St. Lucie 7, Daytona 5

At this rate, it’s unclear what Dustin Lawley has to accomplish to earn a promotion to Double-A Binghamton. The slugging outfielder notched three hits, including a double and a homer — his 20th of the season — to help propel St. Lucie to a 7-5 victory over Daytona on Sunday.

Lawley went 3-for-5 to extend his current hitting streak to four games and finished a triple shy of the cycle in the surging Mets’ eighth win in the past nine outings. They are now just 1.5 games behind first-place Palm Beach in the Florida State League South Division. Lawley is hitting a robust .357 with 16 extra-base hits, including seven homers, in 29 games since the All-Star break.

Michael Fulmer, making his third start with St. Lucie, earned a no-decision after allowing four runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 4.1 innings. The right-hander has yet to complete more than five innings in either of his three outings and owns a lackluster 5.84 ERA.

But the Mets’ offense came out firing in the first game of an eight-game road trip and tallied 10 hits, including six for extra bases. In addition to Lawley’s homer, designated hitter Jayce Boyd also went deep as part of a 2-for-4 performance. He also hit a double and finished with two RBI and two runs scored. The Florida State University product now has a hit in each of the past four games.

Speedy leadoff hitter Kyle Johnson continues to excel on the base paths and swiped two bases, giving him five stolen bases in the past five games. He went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and also scored a run, and is now boasting a .375 batting average.

Angel Cuan (7-2), fresh off his spot start with Binghamton last week, claimed the win after permitting a hit and three walks over 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of Fulmer. He also fanned two batters to give him 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings since moving to the bullpen for St. Lucie. Closer T.J. Chism set down the Cubs in order in the ninth inning — two via strikeout — to capture his 15th save of the season.

Rainy Lara (3-3, 2.86 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the Mets during the second game of the series Monday. He will be opposed by Daytona’s Zach Cates (8-7, 3.93).

Key Stats

Kyle Johnson: 1-for-3, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI 2 SB

T.J. Rivera: 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B

Jayce Boyd: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR

Dustin Lawley: 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR

Kevin Plawecki: 0-for-3, 2 BB

Robbie Shields: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 2B

Angel Cuan: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 2 K

Tim Byrdak: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

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