Worth noting: The highs and lows of a long season have been on full display for the St. Lucie Mets recently. After their offense stalled during the final week of July — a stretch that included being held to one hit in a loss at Lakeland on July 28th — the unit has bounced back this month. During a three-game sweep of Palm Beach that concluded Monday, the Mets recorded double-digits in hits in every game and 22 total runs. In all, St. Lucie rapped 38 total hits, highlighted by a season-high 17 hits in Sunday’s 9-8 victory in 12 innings. Of the 38 hits, a whopping 13 went for extra bases, including four homers.
Surging in the batter’s box: Outfielder Gilbert Gomez. The usual suspects could continue to occupy this spot, but Gomez claimed the distinction under his own merit. After returning from a four-game absence at the beginning of the month, the 21-year-old has gone 6-for-17 (.353) in his past four outings — including a three-game hitting streak — with two doubles and two RBI. Previously, he had tallied a hit in three or more consecutive games only five times this season. Gomez, who joined the organization as a 17-year-old, is still considered a raw product and carried a .216 average after 101 games.
Surging on the mound: Reliever Bret Mitchell. The young right-hander has pitched in 16 games since being promoted from Low Class A Savannah and yielded a run in only two of those outings (three runs total). But he has been especially strong recently. In four appearances this month, Mitchell has fired 6.1 scoreless innings and allowed only four baserunners. He continues to pepper the strike zone as well, retiring 9 of the 23 batters he’s faced via strikeout.
Number to remember: 5. It’s not often that catcher Kevin Plawecki or outfielder Dustin Lawley go hitless in a game. It’s even more rare for them to both finish without a hit in the same contest. But the uncommon occurrence happened during Monday’s win over Palm Beach — only the fifth time the standout tandem has gone hitless in the 43 games they’ve played together since Plawecki’s move from Savannah in mid-June. Plawecki went 0-for-3, while Lawley finished 0-for-2 but did reach base on a walk.
Up next: Fresh off a sweep of Palm Beach that vaulted them back into first place in the FSL South Division, the Mets begin a three-game series at home vs. Fort Myers. Rainy Lara (4-4, 3.13) will take the hill for the opener and is scheduled to be followed by Domingo Tapia (2-8, 5.00) and Matthew Bowman (6-3, 2.85). St. Lucie closes out its homestand with a matchup against Jupiter on Friday before heading south for a two-game set against the Hammerheads on the road.