Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Carlos Carrasco was the last of the New York Mets (3-4) starting rotation to make their spring debut. He got the start on Thursday when the Mets took on the Atlanta Braves (2-2) at Clover Park. Atlanta ended up picking up the win by a final score of 6-2 despite a late Mets rally in the ninth.
The Braves got the scoring started in the top of the second against Carrasco. After Kevin Pillar drew a leadoff walk, Eli White hit a 1-2 slider over the wall in left field for a two-run home run that gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead.
Overall, Carrasco went two innings, allowed two runs on two hits, walked a batter, and struck out one on 30 pitches (21 strikes).
Jose Butto came in for Carrasco in the third and Atlanta quickly added a third run. Forrest Wall led off the inning with a double and Vaughn Grissom singled to right. The Braves tried a double steal and the Mets played it perfectly, but Wall beat the throw home by Jeff McNeil and the Braves took a 3-0 lead.
Butto was able to shake off the rough beginning to the frame and put together a strong outing as he had three strikeouts in two innings of work (25 of 35 pitches for strikes). According to Baseball Savant, he threw four pitches above 96 miles-per-hour and he ended up throwing nine cutters.
Drew Smith made his first spring appearance in the fifth and ended up giving up an unearned run due to an Omar Narváez throwing error (one walk, one strikeout on 22 pitches, 11 strikes).
In the top of the seventh, Atlanta added on the final two runs of the game against Denyi Reyes. Ryan Casteel led off the inning with a solo home run to left and the Braves added another run later in the frame on an RBI double by Cody Milligan.
Bryce Montes de Oca did walk two batters in the eighth inning, but was able to get out of trouble with two strikeouts (13 of 26 pitches for strikes). He ended up throwing seven pitches over 100 mph, including his final pitch, which topped out at 102. In the ninth, Nathan Lavender came in and ended up walking the bases loaded. However, he also kept Atlanta off the scoreboard thanks to two strikeouts.
The Mets offense did not have much success against Braves pitching as they combined to strike out 14 times. However, the first inning was interesting in that Braves starter Kolby Allard had two pitch clock violations and one of them came before even threw a pitch.
Francisco Lindor went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk. Lindor has had a hit in three straight games and four of his last five as he prepares for the World Baseball Classic.
Brett Baty came in the game during the fifth inning to play third as Eduardo Escobar got some time in left field in preparation for the World Baseball Classic. He ended up going 2-for-3 and drove in a run with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. He is now 6-for-12 in the early portion of the spring.
Matt Winaker followed that up with an RBI single of his own to make it 6-2. Jose Peraza grounded out to third with runners on the corners for the final out of the game.
Player Of The Game
Baty is the pick for player-of-the-game due to his multi-hit day and he now has four RBIs with an OPS of 1.288 this spring. The 23-year-old has been one of the Mets best players in camp as he continues to push for an Opening Day roster spot.
Former Mets legend David Wright was in camp on Thursday to talk to Baty and others. “I want to learn as much as I can from him because he’s probably the best third baseman to come through the Mets organization,” Baty said.
On Deck
The Mets will remain home on Friday as they take on the Washington Nationals. Max Scherzer (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will get the start against Washington for the second time this spring against former Met Trevor Williams. You can watch the game on SNY at 1:10 p.m. ET.
