Mets' Lawley shows off power again

The hallmark this season for Class A Advanced St. Lucie's Dustin Lawley has been his consistent displays of power.

Thursday's effort was just yet another example by the 24-year-old.

The Mets' left fielder homered twice -- his Florida State League-leading 22nd and 23rd of the year -- and drove in five runs to power St. Lucie to a 10-4 victory over Tampa.

The twin blasts gave Lawley three home runs in his last two games and provided a stellar start to August after his scorching month of July.

Last month, he hit .299/.344/.563 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 24 games. He delivered his best batting average and on-base percentage of the season over the course of the month.

After starting out the year slowly with a .204/.260/.419 slash line in April, he broke out in May with a .276/.330/.610 performance in 26 games that included six home runs, four triples, nine doubles and 23 RBIs.

The Alabama native now sports an overall batting line of .266/.315/.542 in 101 games. He has amassed 29 doubles, five triples and 82 RBIs and his slugging percentage is second on the circuit behind Clearwater's Maikel Franco (.576).

The power breakout has come after he hit .261/.333/.434 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs in 129 games for Class A Savannah last year, his first full season as a pro. In 2011, New York made him a 19th-round pick out of the University of West Florida.

In his debut that year, Lawley showed his power potential with 10 home runs, 19 doubles and 44 RBIs in 60 games.

After tossing two innings for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets on July 27, rehabbing left-hander Jon Niese allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four in four frames.

No. 20 Mets prospect Hansel Robles (5-2) followed Niese, yielding four runs -- two earned -- on six hits without a walk and four strikeouts in four innings to earn the win. The 22-year-old has a 3.68 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 18 walks in 58 2/3 innings on the circuit.

Outfielder Lucas Duda, also rehabbing in St. Lucie, went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Second baseman T.J. Rivera went a perfect 4-for-4 with a walk and two runs.