The Mets played two split squad games today, and came away with a victory in both matchups. The Mets defeated the Houston Astros at home in Tradition field by a score of 3-1, and the Mets other squad won by a score of 7-2 against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter.
Pitching:
Dillon Gee was solid in his start against Houston, but not spectacular. He allowed no runs and two hits in 3.2 innings. However, he walked two and did not record a strikeout.
Rafael Montero yielded the games only run on a double by Jonathan Villar in the 7th inning. Montero pitched 3.2 innings and struck out two batters.
Jack Leathersich and Sean Gilmartin, who are auditioning for a spot on the Opening Day Roster, both struck out the only batter they faced.
Carlos Torres tossed a perfect 9th inning and picked up the save.
Jon Niese got the start against St. Louis and was impressive. Niese struck out six batters in 4 innings and allowed just one run.
Dario Alvarez, Zack Thornton, Scott Rice and Chase Bradford all had scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.
Offense:
Michael Cuddyer homered again today against Houston in the first inning off of former Met Collin McHugh. Cuddyer now has three home runs this spring.
Curtis Granderson also went deep today with an opposite field home run during the fourth inning. Granderson finished the day going 1 for 2 with a walk.
Travis d’Arnaud added to the Mets 2-0 lead in the 6th with a RBI ground rule double off of Josh Fields.
Wilmer Flores continued his torrid spring with another great day at the plate. Flores homered off of Cardinals’ starter Jamie Garcia in the second inning. His batting average now stands at .406, and he has hit two home runs and 7 RBI in 32 at bats.
The Mets scored two runs in both the 7th and 8th innings to put the game against St. Louis out of reach. Alex Castellanos had an RBI triple to put the Mets up 4-2, and Flores added to the damage with a sac fly to increase the lead. Prospect T.J. Rivera drove in the two runs in the 8th with an RBI single.
On Deck:
The Mets next game will be tomorrow at 1:10 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bartolo Colon will start for New York, and will face off against Michael Wacha. The game will be televised on SNY.
