The spring training schedule has been slightly different this year compared to previous years. So far this spring the Mets have had way more evening games and no split-squad days. The latter point changes today as the Mets have their first of two Sundays in a row playing two split-squad games.
The game against the Marlins will probably be closer to a normal game for the Mets. Yesterday the Mets played an evening game on the road and gave most of their starters the night off. Out of the two games the Mets are playing today, this is the home game so most of the regular players will return to action here.
This is also the easier game for those in the Mets media market to tune into. This afternoon’s game against the Marlins is being broadcasted on WPIX. The Mets road game against the National is being handled by MASN. You’ll need an MLBTV subscription if you want to watch both Mets games at the same time.
Three Things To Watch For:
- José Quintana, Opening Day Starter: The Mets named Quintana as their Opening Day starter earlier this week. So far this spring he has made three starts totaling 8 2/3 innings allowing three runs, two earned from eight hits while striking out nine batters. His last start was his best on yet holding the Nationals to only two hits and no runs in four innings. Look to see how deep the Mets let him go into this game as he starts to wind down his spring ramp-up period.
- Francisco Álvarez: It’s a small sample size of only 25 AB’s but so far this spring Álvarez is hitting .240/.345/.985. Last season he hit .209/.284/.721. In addition to hitting for power this spring Álvarez is working walks, four of them already this spring. Let’s hope this trend continues into the regular season.
- Mark Vientos looks to recover from a rough day. Mark Vientos had about as bad of a game as you can last night. He went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. This came after Friday night’s game where he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Before the alarm bells start to wring, we can put this in perspective. In the four games before this, Mark went 4-for-13 with two home runs and a double. Six of his 13 strikeouts in March are from the last two games. Nine of this 13 strikeouts are from three of ten games he played in.
Let’s Go Mets!
