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Timely Hitting From St. Lucie Leads To 5-3 Win

By Former Writers

July 9, 2013 No comments

78stlucie

St. Lucie 5, Fort Myers 3

For the second straight game, the St. Lucie Mets found themselves in an early hole after the first inning Monday against Fort Myers. This time, they rallied to overcome an early two-run deficit and claim a 5-3 victory at Tradition Field to take two of three games during the series.

Down 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, St. Lucie (45-39) put the first two runners on base after Gilbert Gomez reached on a fielding error by Miracle third baseman Andy Leer and Kyle Johnson singled on a bunt. After T.J. Rivera stuck out on a failed bunt attempt, Jayce Boyd‘s walk loaded the bases and chased Fort Myers starter Jason Wheeler from the contest. Dustin Lawley, who blasted a homer in the series opener, then popped out to second base for the second out.

But catcher Kevin Plawecki continued his timely hitting, ripping a two-run single to left field to give the Mets third first lead of the game at 4-3. He also reached base on a walk, and is now carrying a .327 batting average and .373 on-base percentage in 15 games with St. Lucie.

Johnson was making his team debut after being promoted from Savannah earlier in the day to take the roster spot of Charley Thurber, who was placed on the 7-day disabled list. He went 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and a stolen base while hitting out of the leadoff spot.

Lawley finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. His current six-game hitting streak is two shy of his longest stretch of the season, which extended from April 23rd to May 2nd. Third baseman Robbie Shields went 2-for-4 with a double, his first multi-hit performance since June 26th.

For the fourth consecutive start, Rainy Lara was unable to complete six innings as he surrendered three runs on five hits and five walks with one strikeout over five innings. It was the first time in his seven starts with the Mets he posted more walks than strikeouts as he matched his walk total from his previous three outings combined.

Four St. Lucie relievers held Fort Myers scoreless over the final four innings after Lara departed, including Chasen Bradford, who tallied two strikeouts in his lone inning of work. After the game, Bradford was promoted to Double-A Binghamton, according to ESPN.com.

The Mets now hit the road for a three-game series at first-place Charlotte beginning on Tuesday night. Domingo Tapia (2-4, 3.76 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound in the opener, and will be followed by Hansel Robles and Matthew Bowman in the starting rotation.

Key Stats

Kyle Johnson: 3-for-4, 1 BB, 3 R, 1 SB

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

Dustin Lawley: 2-for-4, 1 RBI

Kevin Plawecki: 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 RBI

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

Matt Reynolds: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Gilbert Gomez: 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

Rainy Lara: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 3 ER, 1 K

Chasen Bradford: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 K