Game Recap: Gonzalez Shows Some Life in 5-1 Loss to Marlins

The New York Mets were defeated by the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 5-1 at Roger Dean Stadium.

Pitching

Steven Matz started off bad in this game. He gave up two runs in a 33 pitch first inning. After that, Matz settled in and faced one over the minimum over the rest of his start and struck out four guys in that time. All told, he struck out five in 4.1 innings and had 77 pitches to his name.

Matz has had two solid outings in a row after a couple of rough outings to begin his spring. He is definitely making a strong push to begin the season in the MLB rotation.

Here is Matz speaking to reporters after the game about his outing:

Steven Matz feels he’s hit his groove at this point in spring, his first two bad outings behind him. #Mets pic.twitter.com/upDqMlSUvW

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 14, 2018

Speaking of guys trying to make a push for the team, Rafael Montero relieved him. Montero definitely made a push today, the only problem was, it was for the other guys on the team. He faced eight hitters and allowed three hits, two walks, and one HBP.

Paul Sewald relieved him and looked pretty good. He came in with the bases-loaded, nobody out, and allowed just one run in the process.

Sewald struggled in his second inning of relief, but faced mostly lefties in that span. Sewald struggled mightily against lefties, but dominated righties in 2017.

Jacob Rhame pitched the final frame and recorded a strikeout in a scoreless inning of work. With Robles struggling, he is making a strong case to make the team.

Offense

The offense struggled in this one, but on the bright side, three of the four regulars in the lineup combined for four hits.

Adrian Gonzalez showed some sign of life after going 2-for-3 in this one.

Jay Bruce notched a hit of his own and Travis d’Arnaud continued his good spring with a double. Luis Guillorme had a couple of hits and reached base three times.

Brandon Nimmo only reached base once, surprisingly, but he did make a nice catch in center.

Ty Kelly drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning to drive in the Mets only run.