The Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 3-2 in today’s contest at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter, improving to 3-3 on the spring.
Offense:
The Mets put five men in scoring position during the first two innings against Cardinals’ starter Miles Mikolas, but ultimately failed to bring anyone home. J.D. Davis grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the first inning, erasing infield hits from Rajai Davis and Wilson Ramos and a one out, opposite-field base knock from Pete Alonso. The second inning ended on a similar note, as two-out baserunners Adeiny Hechavarria and Dilson Herrera would be left on the corners following a 6-3 groundout from Rajai Davis.
An Alonso single up the middle off Jack Flaherty gave the Mets both their first pair of runs and lead in the top of the fifth inning. Alonso is now five for his first 12 with four runs batted in.
Flaherty, who finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting last season, was an out away from completing a second scoreless inning at that point, allowing a ground-rule double to J.D. Davis shortly thereafter before finally squirming away thanks to a Juan Lagares groundout. That would be all the Mets would pull off against Flaherty, who struck out the side in order the following frame.
Another run came in off righty Mike Mayers in the seventh, when J.D. Davis scored Braxton Lee with a bases-loaded force out, though the Mets would be stopped at a two-run lead, as Lagares would ground out to Mayers to leave the bags loaded. The Mets would strand two more baserunners in the eighth, and another pair in the ninth, totaling 11 left on base on 11 hits.
Among other contributors, Dominic Smith went 1-for-1 with a walk and opposite-field single, raising his spring on-base percentage to .714. Michael Conforto notched two hits of his own in four trips to the plate, and is now four for his first 12 this spring.
Pitching:
Jason Vargas allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out three through two innings. Vargas’ day began with a leadoff homer from Matt Carpenter, though he proceeded to retire the next three batters in order, striking out Dexter Fowler and Jose Martínez.
He opened the second inning by walking leadoff man Tyler O’Neill – who would reach third on an errant pickoff throw two outs later. Vargas struck out catcher and former Met farmhand Francisco Peña to end the inning.
Drew Smith took over for Vargas ahead of the third, allowing a walk and two hits – the last of which led to the third out of the inning, when Carpenter was gunned down at the plate on a hit by Martínez following a good throw from Rajai Davis.
Luis Avilán pitched a scoreless fourth inning, allowing a bloop single in between two groundouts and a popup to first base.
Tyler Bashlor navigated two walks to open up the sixth inning, squeaking by on a diving catch by Conforto in right before getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground into a 4-3 double play to keep the Mets ahead.
Jacob Rhame worked a blank sixth inning, yielding one base hit while striking out a batter. Top prospect David Peterson followed a similar path, yielding a leadoff base hit to begin the seventh before striking out his next two batters – the last on a caught-stealing double play.
The Cardinals closed the gap in the bottom of the eighth when outfielder Dylan Carlson and shortstop Edmundo Sosa mashed doubles off Ryder Ryan. Ryan would escape the jam himself with a popout and groundout, albeit sandwiching a two-out walk.
Joshua Torres picked up the save with a three-up, three-down ninth inning, inducing two groundouts and a popout to short to seal the victory.
On Deck:
The Mets head to Lakeland for a 1:05 game against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. 2018 NL Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom will get the ball against veteran righty Tyson Ross. The game will not be televised, though radio audio will be available courtesy of the Tigers’ station WXYT.
