Palm Beach 6, St. Lucie 5

For the first time in his three games with St. Lucie, Kevin Plawecki didn’t bask in the hero spotlight. Although, the Mets certainly would have liked him in that position during Saturday’s series finale at Palm Beach.

Plawecki, who drove in the game-winning run in each of the first two contests of the set, could only watch as the Mets’ bullpen surrendered three runs in the sixth inning during a 6-5 defeat to the Cardinals. The loss halted St. Lucie’s six-game winning streak and prevented the club from registering back-to-back series sweeps to open the second half of the season.

After Noah Syndergaard — Saturday’s probable starter — was promoted to Double-A Binghamton earlier in the day, Carlos Vazquez made his first start of the season and yielded two runs on five hits over four innings, easily the reliever’s longest outing. The left-hander struck out two batters and walked none, and was in line for his first win after departing in the fourth inning clinging to a 4-2 lead.

But after a quick fifth inning, reliever Estarlin Morel found trouble in the sixth and allowed four hits, including a two-run triple to Casey Rasmus. It’s the third time in his past seven appearances he has been tagged for multiple runs to send his ERA to 4.18 on the season. Randy Fontanez permitted an unearned run and two hits over two innings in relief of Morel.

Serving as the designated hitter for the first time, Plawecki went 1-for-4 to give him four hits in his first three games with St. Lucie (39-31). Outfielder Dustin Lawley continued his torrid stretch, going 2-for-4 with an RBI triple in the Mets’ four-run fourth inning and scored a run. The 24-year-old is now a sizzling 11-for-29 (.379) over his past seven games and could be the latest player from the St. Lucie roster pegged for a promotion.

First baseman Jayce Boyd, who arrived from Low-A Savannah earlier this week along with Plawecki, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while hitting out of the fifth spot in the batting order. The Florida State University product has seven hits in his first 13 at-bats (.538) with the Mets and knocked in a run in all three games.

St. Lucie plated a run in the ninth inning on T.J. Rivera‘s RBI single, but Matt den Dekker grounded out to end the game with a runner on first base. den Dekker and Rivera switched spots in the batting order with the latter taking over the leadoff spot and finishing 1-for-5.

The Mets return to Tradition Field on Sunday to open a three-game series against Bradenton. Matthew Bowman (4-0, 2.25 ERA) is projected to make his eighth start with the Mets, while Adrian Sampson (2-3, 5.56) takes the hill for the Marauders. According to the team’s radio broadcast, Hansel Robles (sore shoulder) is expected to be activated from the disabled list to start Friday’s game against Palm Beach.

Key Stats

T.J. Rivera: 1-for-5, 1 RBI

Matt den Dekker: 2-for-5, 1 R

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI

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

Kevin Plawecki: 1-for-4

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

Charley Thurber: 1-for-4, 1 RBI

Carlos Vazquez: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 2 K

Randy Fontanez: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 3 K