Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

The New York Mets (3-2) won their fifth Grapefruit League game against Miami Marlins (4-2) by a 9-3 margin in Port St. Lucie on Thursday night. The win at Clover Park was backed by solid pitching from the pen, as nine different hurlers combined to allow two earned runs on five hits. The offense notched eight hits in the triumph.

Sean Reid-Foley got the start for New York and walked three straight batters, resulting in a run scored on a double play. Edwin Diaz, Miguel Castro, Eric Orze, Chasen Shreve, and Colin Holderman followed in relief and each tossed scoreless inning. Diaz (2), Orze (1), Shreve (1), Holderman (2), combined for 6 strikeouts.

Josh Walker took the mound for New York in the seventh and gave up a pair of leadoff singles. The Marlins got a few runs back after capitalizing on a costly error — a collision by third baseman Brett Baty and shortstop Matt Reynolds turned a potential inning-ending double play ball into an error, and loaded the bases with one out. The Fish then drove in two runners on a Willians Astudillo double.

Seth Lugo and Andrew Mitchell both tossed a scoreless frame to close out the evening, with a strikeout each.

At the plate, Mark Canha and Francisco Lindor got the offense going with back-to-back solo homers in the opening inning — it was Canha’s first [of many] as a Met. Lindor and Pete Alonso drew a pair of walks in the third, and a base hit from Escobar added a run. McNeil followed with a walk, and J.D. Davis notched a double that cleared the bases and made it 6-1.

New York tacked on on three insurance runs in the final three innings with a Lindor RBI double, Matt Reynolds sacrifice fly, and Francisco Alvarez homer.

Top prospect Alvarez hit a 441 foot home run. Yup, 441 feet and 108.9 mph off the bat for the 20-year-old.

The Fish gave the Mets 10 free baserunners — they issued six walks, hit three batters and allowed a baserunner on an error. The Mets took advantage, but still went 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base.

As a reminder, this is game five of a delayed spring training season that featured 18 different batters and nine different pitchers from New York. A big takeaway of the spring thus far is the potential impact of 2022 veteran addition Eduardo Escobar, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI and is already making headlines for his clubhouse presence.

(Box Score)

Player of the Game

Francisco Lindor earns Thursday’s honor with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate, including a homer, double, and two RBI.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to face the Houston Astros in West Palm Beach on Friday at 6:05 p.m. ET. Tylor Megill make his first start of the spring season after tossing three innings with three strikeouts in Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Cardinals.