Sean Manaea and the Mets took the field in Tampa, Florida, for their final game in the Grapefruit League, looking to end the spring on a positive note.

While the team eventually fell 3-0 to the Yankees, and ended their spring with a record of 15-14, Manaea looked sharp against a lineup that included many Yankee regulars.

After allowing a leadoff single to Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the first, Manaea retired Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Anthony Rizzo in a row, striking out both Judge and Rizzo with nasty breaking balls.

Strikeouts would be the theme of Manaea’s start on Monday. The lefty struck out seven over five innings, getting Judge twice and Soto once, who rarely strikes out.

In total, Manaea received 15 whiffs in his start against the Yankees. He consistently touched 93 miles per hour with his fastball, while mixing in his 80 miles per hour sweeper to throw off batters.

Overall, Manaea pitched five innings against the Yankees, striking out seven batters and allowing two earned runs. The two runs were knocked in by Benjamin Cowles, who drove a double off the wall in the bottom of the fifth.

The start put a cap on Manaea’s numbers for the spring. He pitched 16 2/3 innings, recording a 3.24 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, and four walks.

After his start against the Yankees, Manaea spoke to the media, highlighting his success in his final start and stating that he hit his goals for the spring.

“All my pitches felt great. I felt like I held my velocity a lot better this game than in previous games. No walks, control was there, throwing every for strikes in different counts, just working quickly,” Manaea said. “Overall, it was a great spring.”

It certainly was an impressive spring for Manaea. He displayed his swing-and-miss stuff in every start, mirroring his success from the end of 2023, where he recorded a 2.67 ERA in five games with the Giants.

Now, the attention turns toward the regular season, where the moral victories end and the results matter. Manaea is slotted fourth in the rotation behind José Quintana, Luis Severino and Tylor Megill, lining his first start to come on Monday in the series opener versus the Detroit Tigers.