The Mets defeated the Houston Astros by a score of 9-5 this afternoon at First Data Field.
Pitching
Newly-inked southpaw Jason Vargas toed the rubber for the Mets this afternoon and yielded two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
The Mets staked Vargas to an early 2-0 lead, but the veteran gave those runs back in the third after Jake Marisnick hit a sacrifice fly and Alex Bregman chipped in a run-scoring double.
Seth Lugo was the first man out of the bullpen and fired 3.1 innings of one run ball. He allowed just two hits and struck out two.
Hansel Robles and Jamie Callahan each surrendered a run in their respective innings of work to give Houston a late 5-4 lead.
Tyler Bashlor came on in the ninth and held the Astros at bay, and in turn, earned himself a win because the Mets would walk off in the bottom of the ninth.
Offense
As mentioned above, the Mets got off to an early 2-0 lead with contributions from Jay Bruce and Ty Kelly in the first and second innings, respectively.
In the third with the game locked at two, Yoenis Cespedes played long ball, going deep to center field to give the Mets a then-one run advantage.
After the ‘Stros went back on top, Tomas Nido got the Mets even again in the seventh inning with a home run of his own and his first one of the Spring.
Down 5-4 in the eighth, Luis Guillorme drove in a run with a single up the middle to tie the game up yet again in the late goings.
Phillip Evans launched a grand slam in the ninth to give the Mets a dramatic 9-5 victory.
On deck
The Mets will take on the crosstown rival New York Yankees Wednesday afternoon. Zack Wheeler is slated to take on former Mets farmhand Luis Cessa at First Data Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.
