Mets End Spring Training With A 3-3 Tie Against Miami

The New York Mets took on the Miami Marlins Sunday afternoon in the team’s last game of spring training. At Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the Mets tied for the second day in a row as each team scored three runs. The Mets end spring training 10-14 with a few ties. Now, the real baseball starts.

The first score of Sunday’s game came in the third inning. Starling Marte lined a two-out double to left field, Brandon Nimmo – who singled earlier in the inning – came all the around to score from first base. The Mets led 1-0 after three innings.

The Marlins responded right away in the next frame. They got five hits and three runs off Justin Verlander. Verlander, for the second time in the game, was also struck by a comebacker. Each time, he brushed it off and remained in the game. Miami led 3-1 headed to the bottom of the fourth inning.

After a Pete Alonso single, he was moved to third base and brought home via a Mark Canha sacrifice fly. New York trailed 3-2 after four innings.

The Mets were able to the tie the game up in the next inning. Starling Marte hit another two-out double and was brought home the very next at-bat via a Francisco Lindor double.

Justin Verlander‘s day ended after five tumultuous innings. It was a bizarre start that featured the 40-year-old getting struck twice by balls hit right at his lower body. He once again struggled with his command as he walked four and only threw a strike 57.8 percent of the time. All in all, he went five innings and allowed three runs thanks to eight hits. His spring training ERA stands at 3.00.

The Mets’ bullpen behind Verlander was fantastic. Four relievers combined for four hitless innings. Stephen Nogosek two strikeouts), Tommy Hunter (two strikeouts), Dennis Santana, and Grant Hartwig all contributed one inning a piece.

As for the Mets’ bats, the game stayed at three runs a piece as the New York offense mustered eight hits. Marte was the only Met with multiple knocks.

Starling Marte. Photo by Ed Delaney, MMO

Player of the Game: Starling Marte

Marte had himself a very nice day and directly factored into two of the Mets’ three runs. He went 3-for-3 with two doubles. One of which scored a run and due to the other he scored a run himself.

Marte ends spring with a terrific slash line of .344/.361/.535 which is good for a .924 OPS. He certainly looks ready to go.

On Deck

As mentioned above, Sunday’s game was the last game of spring training. Next up, the Mets will open the 2023 regular season in Miami against the Marlins at 4:10 PM ET on Thursday. The projected pitching matchup for the season opener is Max Scherzer versus Sandy Alcántara.