The Mets are coming off an 8-2 win against the Astros behind a strong start from David Peterson and 12 hits from the bats including five doubles from four different hitters! The Mets offense heads back to West Palm Beach today to take on the other home team, the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals are trying to round their starting rotation. Shinnosuke Ogasawara is locked in a roster battle to break camp with the team and in that starting five. Over four starts and 8 1/3 innings this spring, he has a 7.56 ERA and a 2.52 WHIP. He has every reason to fully bring it on against the Mets this afternoon.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Kodai Senga. Every Kodai start is a must watch, right? Senga dominated in his first start of the season allowing only two hits and nothing else over two innings while striking out two batters. His next major league spring training start was on March 14th where he allowed two runs from seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. Today we are looking for Senga to look more like his first start, keep the hits down and mow through this Nationals lineup.
- Stolen Bases. The Mets have only swiped 15 bags this spring, which is good for 24th in MLB. For context, the Brewers already have 50 stolen bases, six teams have 30 or more, and 15 teams have 20 or more. Today’s starting lineup has 11 of the Mets 15 stolen bases. Azocar and Acuña have three each, Lindor and Siri have a pair each and Baty rounds out the group with one.
- José Azocar. Let’s stick with Azocar for a bit. Azocar is having a tremendous spring with the Mets hitting 11-for-35 with a homer, three stolen bases and eight RBI’s. His eight RBI’s are tied for second on the team behind Pete Alonso. He has one more week to make a push up the depth chart. It’s still unlikely he breaks camp with the team, but a week is a long time in spring training.
Let’s Go Mets!
