Griffin Canning outperforming Sonny Gray was not on anybody’s bingo card Monday night. Canning’s dominance and Gray’s lack thereof set the tone for the game between the Mets and Cardinals, powering the Mets to a resounding 8-0 victory.
Canning, who enters 2025 with a career 4.78 ERA in five MLB seasons, looked sharp as he started his first game this spring. It was his second appearance overall. The former Angel, looking to establish himself as a reliable major league arm, tossed three 2/3 scoreless innings, totaling 55 pitches (37 strikes, including 11 whiffs). He allowed no runs on one hit, no walks and five strikeouts in his best attempt to quell any doubts Mets fans may have about him. He has not allowed a run in 5 1/3 innings across two appearances this spring.
Gray, on the other hand, had a rough outing, particularly in the second and third innings. The Cardinals’ ace set down Lindor, Soto, and Alonso with ease in the first but couldn’t replicate the same success with the bottom half of the Mets’ order. He allowed a scorching double down the left field line to Starling Marte in his first at-bat of spring training. Marte nearly recorded an RBI, but Jesse Winker was thrown out at home as he attempted to score from first.
Marte was driven home as the game’s first run just four pitches later as Jeff McNeil skied a long double into right field. Luis Torrens then launched a home run over the right field wall, showing off his opposite-field power, to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-0. Gray got out of that inning without giving up another run, but he was immediately greeted in the third inning by Juan Soto, who pulled a leadoff first-pitch cutter over the right field wall to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Gray exited the inning without giving up another run, but not before walking and hitting a batter. He ended the day with four earned runs allowed in four innings, giving up six hits. Four of them were for extra bases.
The Mets continued to pile it on, even after Gray left the game. Mark Vientos followed up a Soto opposite-field double in the fifth inning with an opposite-field homer to put the Mets ahead 6-0. It was Vientos’ second day in a row with a home run. The Mets tacked on again in the seventh inning, with a pair of RBI singles increasing the team’s lead to 8-0.
The pitching behind Canning was stellar, as six relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Chris Devenski notably battled through a grueling seventh inning in which he allowed two walks and a hit, but he struck out three in the inning, including the final out with the bases loaded, to keep the Cardinals off the board. Trey McLoughlin closed the game out in the ninth to clinch the Mets an 8-0 victory.
Player of the Game: Juan Soto
$765 million over 15 years is a seismic commitment, but how could it not be worth it? Juan Soto continues to be a spectacle in every at-bat this spring, and he delivered yet another standout performance on Monday. The 26-year-old went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double as he raised his spring OPS through 18 at-bats to 1.556.
Injury Update
Dedniel Núñez, who was really good for the Mets in 2024 before going down with injury, threw a live batting practice for the first time this spring on Monday. The Mets believe Núñez can still be ready for the start of the regular season, though whether he will be or not is still uncertain.
On Deck
Mets spring training continues Tuesday afternoon with a 1:05 p.m. ET matchup against the Astros in West Palm Beach. The Mets are expected to start Tylor Megill with prospect Nolan McLean also expected to pitch, the first time he’ll do so in a spring training game. Meanwhile, Hunter Brown is expected to take the mound for the Astros. The game will be broadcast on MLB Network.
