Photo by Ed Delany

The New York Mets ran to victory in a 10-run, 11-hit barrage against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter this afternoon. The final score was 10-8, with Jacob Rhame getting the win and Stephen Villines notching the save.

Offense:

The Mets failed to get on the board their first two innings against starter Daniel Ponce de Leon, but managed a run on a wild pitch that scored Rajai Davis, and added two more on an opposite-field homer by Luis Guillorme to tie the game at three. Guillorme is now six for his first dozen at-bats this spring, and is sporting a 1.404 OPS.

The next seven Mets would go down in order – five against long reliever Dakota Hudson, but again rallied following two-out base knocks from Juan Lagares, Guillorme, and then debuting designated hitter Travis d’Arnaud – the last of which gave New York a 4-3 lead.

 

Dominic Smith added to his spring tear by singling in Guillorme in the following at-bat, and came back for more in the seventh, this time against Giovanny Gallegos. After a throwing error from behind the plate tied the game, Smith launched a three-run blast onto the terrace well beyond the fences to make it a 9-6 ballgame. In a three-for-four day, Smith raised his average to .500 (eight for 16), and has tied J.D. Davis for the team lead in RBI with five. His 1.267 OPS is currently the fifth-highest in the National League.

Adeiny Hechavarria added to the festivities with a solo shot of his own off Gallegos in the eighth, making for his first hit in a Mets uniform (Grapefruit League edition).

In other developments, Juan Lagares went three-for-five with three runs scored out of the leadoff spot, while Dilson Herrera went hitless with a pair of strikeouts. Herrera would depart in the bottom of the fifth after misplaying a ground ball and hurting his knee on the attempted recovery.

Pitching:

It was a rough day at the office for starter Zack Wheeler, who allowed three earned runs on four hits, two walks, and two stolen bases in an inning and two-thirds, picking up a no-decision in the process.

Wheeler led off the first by walking third baseman Matt Carpenter, who would steal second two outs later as Wheeler surrendered another walk – this time to rookie outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Second baseman Jedd Gyorko looped a single into right field to score Carpenter and give St. Louis an early lead, though Wheeler would proceed to get a 1-3 tapper out of Harrison Bader to stop the bleeding.

The second inning, despite a much higher strike percentage (13 out of 18 relative to the 15 of 26 the prior frame), would be the righty’s undoing. With a runner at first and two outs, Wheeler allowed a long opposite-field homer to Carpenter to extend the Cardinals’ lead to three. He was pulled two pitches later after Dexter Fowler hooked a single into right field, with Drew Smith coming in for an early relief stint.

Smith struck out O’Neill to end the second and Harrison Bader to begin the third on a pair of low curveballs, and allowed two hits total in his inning and a third. Catcher Devin Mesoraco threw out pinch-runner Edmundo Sosa to retire the side.

Luis Avilán tossed a magnificent fourth inning, retiring all three batters faced on a strikeout, flyout, and unassisted groundout to first base.

Kyle Dowdy struggled in the fifth, throwing just 15 of his 31 total pitches for strikes while recording just two outs. Dowdy walked two while surrendering three earned runs, the first two coming across on a two-run blast by Tyler O’Neill that registered an exit velocity of 110 mph.

Following the blast, Sosa laced a triple to right before Dowdy walked Bader on five pitches – the last a fastball that sailed into the backstop netting to bring Sosa across. Following another assist from Mesoraco on another attempted steal to empty the bases, catching prospect Andrew Knizner doubled down the left field line. He too would advance on a high and wild fastball from Dowdy, who would be yanked in favor of Jacob Rhame following his second walk.

Rhame, like Drew Smith before him, cleared the docket with relative ease, inducing a groundout before working a scoreless sixth in which he allowed a hit while striking out a batter.

Tyler Bashlor navigated a leadoff base hit by retiring his next three hitters – including one on a strikeout. The eighth would present more of a challenge, as Bashlor allowed two hard singles before a shift-beating fielder’s choice from Matt Wieters brought in a run (aided by a throwing error) and a subsequent five-pitch walk loaded the bases.  Four pitches, one infield popout, and one 6-4-3 double play later, Bashlor was free to go. He has yet to allow an earned run in his first four innings this spring.

Non-roster reliever Stephen Villines allowed a run on a leadoff triple and sacrifice fly, and despite yielding a double later in the inning, ultimately came away with the save. Overall, the Mets allowed 15 hits to the Cardinals’ offense.

On Deck:

The Mets will split up ahead of two games tomorrow afternoon. The home contest will be played against the Boston Red Sox at 1:10 PM, and can be watched live both on SNY and MLB Network. Steven Matz is penciled in as the starter against Eduardo Rodríguez.

Their road affair will take place in West Palm against the Houston Astros, also at 1:10, and will only be accessible via Houston’s radio station KBME 790. Corey Oswalt will make the start.