Jupiter 2, St. Lucie 1

The St. Lucie Mets found themselves in unfamiliar territory during their series finale at Jupiter — they weren’t stuck with an early deficit. Recently, the Mets have drifted at the beginning of games but for the first time in three outings Sunday, they weren’t down by three runs after the first inning.

Despite not relinquishing its first run until the sixth inning this time, St. Lucie still dropped its fourth straight game — its longest losing streak since June 27-30 — following a 2-1 loss in 10 innings. The Mets (28-23) started the weekend atop the FSL South Division standings but are now 1.5 games behind first-place Charlotte with less than two weeks remaining in the season.

St. Lucie starter Michael Fulmer held the Hammerheads scoreless over the first 3 1/3 innings before leaving in the fourth inning with a shoulder injury after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of Casey Kotchman, according to ESPN.com. He allowed just two hits and two walks with three strikeouts during his abbreviated outing before being replaced by Cody Satterwhite.

Offensively, the Mets struggled again, as only four players recorded hits. The lone mark came on an RBI triple by shortstop Matt Reynolds in the seventh inning to score outfielder Charley Thurber. In the past three matchups against Jupiter, St. Lucie totaled only three runs and 14 hits.

Outfielder Kyle Johnson remained the Mets’ hottest player, going 2-for-5 to finish as the club’s only batter with multiple hits. He is now batting 22-for-59 (.372) during his 14-game hitting streak that has lifted his overall average to .297 on the season.

St. Lucie earns its last scheduled day off of the season on Monday before opening a three-game series at Palm Beach. Rainy Lara (4-4, 3.38 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Mets.

Key Statistics

Kyle Johnson: 2-for-5

Charley Thurber: 0-for-1, 1 R, 2 BB

Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI

Michael Fulmer: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER, 3 K

T.J. Chism: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 3 K