Down in Jupiter, Florida, offense was hard to come by for both the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. In total, the two teams managed only three hits a piece as the squads settled on the game ending in a 0-0 tie. Even though neither team put up any runs, the pitching was strong, especially from José Buttó. 

Buttó went against a Cardinals lineup that featured the likes of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado and he kept them in check the bulk of the day. He threw four scoreless innings, allowed two hits, walked two, and struck out three on 64 pitches (40 strikes). 

José Butto. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Buttó used mainly his sinker and his changeup (41 of 64 pitches) and he was able to get five whiffs off of that changeup. This spring, he has a 0.90 ERA in four games (two starts). 

Meanwhile, the Mets offense was going up against Lance Lynn and they managed just one hit against him in four innings (four strikeouts). The lone hit came in the top of the third on a single by Zack Short. Short ended up recording two of the three Mets hits in the tie. 

The other hit by the Mets was a Brett Baty single in the seventh. In that inning, the Mets got the first two runners on thanks to a single and a Pete Alonso walk. However, a Harrison Bader double play ended up erasing any chance at a run. 

Adam Ottavino came in after Butto and struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 fifth inning. The strikeouts would continue from the Mets bullpen with Austin Adams striking out the side in the sixth on 10 pitches (eight for strikes). 

For the final three innings, New York turned to Yohan Ramírez and Tyler Jay. Ramírez threw two scoreless innings, allowed one hit, and struck out four. Jay would hit a batter with two outs in the ninth, but he struck out two of the four batters he faced to preserve the tie. 

On Deck

There will be a doubleheader of New York Mets action Friday afternoon at Port St. Lucie against the Washington Nationals.

At 3:15 p.m ET, the two squads will have their teams of prospects face off as part of the Spring Breakout series. We’ll have a livestream of the game on MMO! 

Dominic Hamel is scheduled to get the start for the Mets against Jackson Rutledge for Washington. 

The second game will take place at 6:10 p.m and you can catch the game on SNY. Adrian Houser is scheduled to take the ball for the Mets in the nightcap.