The New York Mets were originally planning to start Taijuan Walker in Wednesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, but ended up scratching him hours before the contest. Walker instead chose to start a B game at home in Port St. Lucie, so that he could get some extra work on his curveball ahead of the season.
Walker threw 80 pitches over five innings in the B game, while Corey Oswalt took the ball in the Mets spring training game against the Cardinals. Prior to the game, manager Luis Rojas said that starting Oswalt was as much about getting a closer look against him in a live game, as it was about Walker getting his work in the B game.
The Mets will deploy a similar strategy this Friday, when Jacob deGrom will start the B game in St. Luice, while David Peterson takes the mound against the Washington Nationals as the starter. This will also prevent the Nationals batters an extra chance to get a look at deGrom before Opening Day.
Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals was still a significant one for Oswalt though, as the 27-year-old tries to make his bid to win a spot on the Opening Day roster. Oswalt had allowed five runs against the Cardinals on March 19th, when he pitched in relief of Walker for 2 2/3 innings, and was looking for better results this time around.
Oswalt started the game with a scoreless first inning, working around a rare fielding error by Luis Guillorme to strand one baserunner. In the second inning, Oswalt struck out the first two batters he faced, before giving up a solo home run to John Nogowski.
That home run was the only run Oswalt would give up, as the right-hander limited the Cardinals to just two hits over his four innings of work. In doing so, Oswalt lowered his spring ERA from 9.64 down to 6.23.
One of the best attributes Oswalt has showcased this spring is his ability to throw strikes, as he has only walked one batter across 8 2/3 innings pitched. Still, making the Opening Day roster is going to be a struggle for Oswalt, because he is no longer on the 40-man roster after being DFA’d last month.
