The Mets host the Cardinals for their first home spring training game of the year and for us in the Tri-State area, it is also the first televised Mets game of the year! Rejoice!
Yesterday the Mets kicked off spring training with a bang, hitting three homers in the very first inning against the Nationals. Luis Guillorme led off the game with a homer and ended the game with a total of three hits. Dominic Smith had two hits, including a homer. Before the game, Smith revealed that he was dealing with a major injury most of last season and that he feels great – the results last night agree with him. Nick Plummer, who is on the active roster for outfield depth, also added in a homer of his own.
The pitching yesterday for the Mets was great. Josh Walker started the game pitching 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out two. Walker is a non-roster invitee in camp this year fighting for his spot ont he Mets depth chart. Claudio, Holderman, Zastryzny, Orze and Nogosek all followed Walker and none of them allowed any earned runs. All of those pitchers listed are also non-roster invitees to major league camp.
We weren’t expecting to see too many regulars play yesterday – the first spring training game of the year, a road spring training game, and a night start – so we should see more familiar faces to make their spring 2022 debuts.
Mets Lineup:
- Brandon Nimmo CF
- Francisco Lindor SS
- Jeff McNeil 2B
- Pete Alonso 1B
- Robinson Cano DH
- Eduardo Escobar 3B
- Mark Canha LF
- Brian McCann C
- Travis Jankowski RF
Starting Pitcher: David Peterson
What We Are Looking For:
The Mets the last two seasons would not have functioned without David Peterson in the rotation. The Mets last year would have fallen apart without Tylor Megill starting games. As of right now, both players are slated to start the year in Syracuse because the Mets heavily upgraded the rotation in the off-season. Both are slated to make their spring debuts tonight. Peterson is looking to have a bounce back year after his strong showing his rookie year where he posted a 3.44 ERA over 10 games and 49.2 innings. Megill had a solid rookie year with a 4.52 ERA over 89.2 innings. Homeruns were an issue for him – he gave up 19 leading to a 1.9 HR/9 rate.
The Mets starting lineup is very close to the lineup that we could see in the regular season, minus Jankowski in right field (No Marte today). This will be the first time we get a look at two off-season signings: Escobar and Canha. Escobar hit .253/.314/.472 last year with a 103 DRC+. Canha had a .231/.358/.387 line with a 114 DRC+. As a comparison – Brandon Nimmo had a 110 DRC+ last season and has a career 103 DRC+.
Let’s Go Mets!
