The Mets finally snapped their losing streak yesterday beating the Yankees 5-4 yesterday. It was a great game all around for the Mets who did all of their scoring in the third inning, which meant they did almost all of their scoring with their regular, starting players. Marte got the scoring going with an RBI-groundout. Lindor followed that with a double and Baty brought him home with a single. Álvarez and Baty would later score on a passed ball.
The real story though was the starting pitching. Tylor Megill pitched three scoreless innings while striking out six batters. Over the entire spring he has allowed only one run over eight innings. Sean Reid-Foley, fighting for a spot on the active roster, also stood out by striking out the side.
The focus for today’s game shifts to the starting pitching with José Quintana scheduled to make his second start of the spring followed by Joey Lucchesi’s spring debut. At the start of spring training Joey and Tylor were competing with José Buttó and Max Kranick for the final spot in the rotation. Max’s injury has taken him out of the competition. José and Tylor have been impressive so far this spring. Can Joey’s churve stand out?
Three Things To Watch For:
- José Quintana’s second start: Quintana’s first spring start was rough where he allowed two runs from two hits and three walks over 1 2/3 innings while facing nine batters. It’s difficult to read too much into the first spring start because you don’t exactly know what the pitcher is working on but walking three batters over two innings doesn’t feel great. We are hoping for a smoother start today where he can get his work in stretched over multiple innings.
- Joey Lucchesi enters the rotation competition: Joey had a pretty good year for the Mets last season making nine starts and pitching 46 2/3 innings with a 2.89 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 1.307 WHIP and a 147 ERA+. At the end of the season he became part of the Mets six-man rotation where he had a 1.93 ERA, 3.63 FIP over three starts and 18 2/3 innings. The Mets would love that performance in April this year.
- Mets bats will face some serious pitchers today. According to the Mets published game notes, the Astros are bringing some serious heat to the mound this afternoon. Framber Valdez is scheduled to get the start and both Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly are scheduled to pitch. Valdez led the league in complete games in 2022 (3) and complete game shutouts last season (2). Ryan Pressly was already one of the better closers in the game with back to back seasons of at least 30 saves but the Astros went out and got the best reliever on the market anyway in Josh Hader. In a regular season game these three pitchers together would be intimidating, but in a spring training game this gives the Mets an opportunity to get some reps in against talented pitching.
Let’s Go Mets!
