Francisco Álvarez is giving fans a reason to believe that maybe this year will be better than the last. (And perhaps reminding some of an old song.)
The 22-year-old catcher homered, doubled and scored twice to pace the offense in a 3-1 victory for the New York Mets (7-5) over the Miami Marlins (3-6) in Jupiter, Florida. The performance came a day after Álvarez homered and caught three runners trying to steal against the Washington Nationals.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Pete Alonso launched a 410-foot solo homer off of Anthony Bender in the sixth inning while José Iglesias added an RBI single off Eury Pérez in the second inning as part of a 2-for-4 performance that boosted his OPS on the spring to .824.
Luis Severino was sharp in his second start, striking out four while surrendering three hits over three scoreless innings. He reached 97 MPH multiple times throughout the night and has now thrown five scoreless frames this spring.
José Buttó, competing for a rotation spot that opened when Kodai Senga got hurt, gave up three hits and one run on a Luis Arráez single during his three innings of work while striking out three.
Right-hander Reed Garrett threw a scoreless 7th, Yohan Ramírez tossed a scoreless 8th with the help of an outfield assist by Nick Morabito, and Yacksel Ríos notched a save with a perfect ninth, striking out Jonah Bride to end the game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Álvarez shined again, going 2-for-2 with two extra base hits. He is 5-for-14 this spring with three home runs and is slashing .357/.500/1.071. Another good sign is he’s walked four times in 18 plate appearances and struck out just twice. Last year, Álvarez had 110 strikeouts and 34 walks in 423 plate appearances.
ON DECK
Sean Manaea will make his second spring start tomorrow vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida at 1:05 p.m. EST. He will look to bounce back after giving up three runs and seven hits over 2 2/3 innings in his first outing. Ex-Met Steven Matz gets the start for St. Louis.
