St. Lucie 8, Palm Beach 4

After being carried by a select group of players for most of the season, the St. Lucie Mets are beginning to get contributions from other members of the lineup. That recent boost has lifted the Mets back into first place in the FSL South Division.

Leadoff hitter Kyle Johnson continued his power surge with a home run in his second straight game and second baseman T.J. Rivera went deep for the first time this season to pace St. Lucie (26-19) to an impressive three-game sweep of Palm Beach (26-21) following an 8-4 win Monday at Tradition Field.

Starting pitcher Michael Fulmer was also solid, yielding just one run on two hits over six innings to even his record at 2-2. The 20-year-old posted a season-high eight strikeouts, but also walked four batters for the second outing in a row. Still, he has now registered a quality start in his past three outings.

For Johnson, his solo shot in the third inning gave him three on the season and helped him to his second consecutive game with two RBI. During his current eight-game hitting streak, he has tallied multiple hits five times to increase his batting average to .287 on the year.

In an interesting change, catcher Kevin Plawecki and outfielder Dustin Lawley both went without a hit despite the Mets racking up 10 hits. Instead, shortstop Matt Reynolds and third baseman Robbie Shields assisted the offense with two-hit games and each tallied a double. Both players entered Monday with an average below .230.

Rivera continued his scorching play and improved his hitting streak to 10 straight games, complete with three hits in each of his past two contests. He is 19-for-40 (.475) during his current run with five RBI, four of which came in Monday’s game.

St. Lucie continues its homestand Tuesday with the start of a three-game series against Fort Myers. Rainy Lara (4-4, 3.13) is scheduled to take the mound for the Mets.

Key Statistics

Kyle Johnson: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR

T.J. Rivera: 3-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 RBI, 1 HR

Dustin Lawley: 0-for-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 SB

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

Matt Reynolds: 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 2B

Robbie Shields: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B

Michael Fulmer: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 1 ER, 8 K