Flores, Nimmo flex muscles with St. Lucie

Wilmer Flores and Brandon Nimmo took big steps on the road to recovery Sunday.
The rehabbing Mets both homered and combined for five hits as Class A Advanced St. Lucie edged Clearwater, 6-5, at First Data Field.

Flores -- who is returning from a right-knee infection -- entered his second rehab appearance coming off an 0-for-3 showing Saturday. The New York infielder seemed more comfortable against the Threshers on Sunday. He smacked a single to center field in the fifth and a double to left in the seventh after striking out in the first. The 25-year-old almost picked up another hit when he smashed a line drive toward left in the fifth, but it was ruled an error after careening off third baseman Jan Hernandez's glove.
"Yesterday, it looked like he was rusty. In all honesty, I think he came basically right from the hospital to the field," St. Lucie manager Chad Kreuter said. "Getting his legs back under him was the goal yesterday. Play a little catch, take some batting practice, see some live pitching, and then today, he got a better result."
Box score
Flores helped the Mets break a 4-4 tie in the eighth by lifting a two-run homer to left off Clearwater lefty Jeff Singer (1-1).
"We know he's very comfortable and hits very well against left-handers," Kreuter said. "That was a big situation for our team being up there in the eighth in a tie ball game with two outs. He caught a fastball that was down and out over the plate and smoked it."
In his fifth rehab appearance with St. Lucie, Nimmo went yard to left-center to lead off the first. The outfielder also singled to lead off the third.
Nimmo had spent much of April on the disabled list with a right hamstring injury sustained while playing for Team Italy at the World Baseball Classic. The 2011 first-round pick went 2-for-13 in his first four rehab games, but Kreuter felt he had swung the bat better than the numbers indicated.
"The numbers are deceiving, as we know in baseball," the skipper said. "Guys can hit four rockets around the ballpark and go 0-for-4. For him, it's about getting in his reps and getting the timing going and seeing both left-handers and right-handers.
"Right from the get-go, I thought he had good at-bats the first day he was with us. He had better at-bats today. Obviously, hitting the home run was great for our team. Those are signs that his timing is coming around."
In the meantime, the presence of the two big leaguers has made Kreuter's job a bit easier.

"Our staff uses them as examples of swing path, work ethic, the professionalism of how they go about each at-bat," he said. "What they're trying to do with their plan. Certainly, we don't want them here a very long time, we want them back in the big leagues. But it's good to have those guys for my players and this group to see them work and to see that this process that they go through, there is an end reward and this is why you do things a certain way."
Mets No. 21 prospectJhoan Urena and Anthony Dimino contributed three hits apiece for St. Lucie.
On the mound, Johnny Magliozzi improved to 3-1 after giving up a run on three hits and fanning two over the final two innings.
Wilson Garcia cracked a homer and two doubles while plating two runs for the Threshers.