The Mets (9-8) beat the Cardinals (7-6) by a score of 5-4 on Friday afternoon at Tradition Field.
Bartolo Colon got the start for the Mets and was his usual self, keeping the opposition in check without ever looking like he was dominating in any way. Colon pitched 4.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk, with both runs scoring on a home run in the fourth. The home-plate umpire was squeezing Bartolo a bit, but the big righty still managed to strike out 5 Cardinals.
Both teams got a runner on base in the first inning, but Colon got Jon Jay to ground into a double-play, and Curtis Granderson was caught stealing as part of a strike-him-out throw-him-out double-play following his leadoff single.
Scott Moore hit a one-out double against Colon in the second inning and advanced to third on the play thanks to an error by Granderson, but “shortstop” Wilmer Flores nabbed Moore at the plate as he tried to score on a weak bouncer off the bat of Tony Cruz, and Bartolo escaped the inning unscathed.
The Mets finally opened up the scoring in the bottom of the third against Michael Wacha, as Matt den Dekker singled and stole second before scoring on a two-out double by Granderson. Granderson then came home on an RBI single from David Wright to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long, as Moore lined a two-run shot over the wall in the top of the fourth to even up the game. Michael Cuddyer led off the bottom of the frame with a single, but was erased when Flores hit into a double-play, and the two teams headed into the fifth with the score still tied.
Colon got into some trouble with two outs in the fifth, and with runners on 1st and 2nd, Terry Collins decided to bring in Carlos Torres. Torres got the job done, retiring the side and closing the book on Bartolo. New York got back in front in the bottom of the frame, when Daniel Muno (filling in for the injured Daniel Murphy) hit a two-out double off the top of the wall in right, and scored on Granderson’s third hit of the ballgame.
Torres fanned Mark Reynolds to begin the top of the sixth, but consecutive singles from Moore, Cruz, and Stephen Piscotty tied the game at 3 and put runners on 1st and 2nd. Erik Goeddel came in to replace Torres and retired the first batter he faced, but a two-out single from Pete Kozma would give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
The Mets wasted no time reclaiming the advantage. Lucas Duda‘s led off with a base-hit and Michael Cuddyer followed him up with his 4th home run of the Spring, putting the Mets up 5-4.
Buddy Carlyle worked a perfect top of the seventh, and Scott Rice struck out Moore to begin the eighth before getting the second out on a questionable interference call following a bunt. Jeurys Familia came in to get the final out of the inning, before handing the ball over to Jenrry Mejia for the top of the ninth.
Mejia immediately put himself in hot water, surrendering a leadoff double to Dean Anna (who was replaced by pinch-runner CJ McElroy). McElroy advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and Xavier Scruggs came to the plate with one out and the tying run 90 feet away. Scruggs hit a fairly shallow fly to Kirk Nieuwenhuis in left field, and McElroy decided to take a chance, tagging up and breaking for the plate with the game in the balance. Kirk’s throw was strong, but took a tough short-hop in front of Kevin Plawecki. Plawecki secured the ball and slapped the tag on Scruggs just before he could get his hand on home plate, sealing a win for the Mets.
That was pretty fun. We’re starting to see more of the “real” players as we get further into the spring. And we’re seeing some real production, too. Cuddyer has been awesome lately and Granderson is hot at the plate as well. If those guys can stay healthy (not a given) and produce, it would be a huge boost to our lineup. Two of Grandy’s hits went the other way, and Wright did a nice job going the other way with two outs and two strikes for his RBI knock.
The pitchers were a bit shaky, but they got the job done. It was nice to see Mejia keeping his composure in a tense situation, and Scott Rice looked good enough to almost justify the 161 appearances he will inevitably get if Collins gives him the LOOGY job.
Gary Cohen has taken some time off this spring, and while he’s an amazing play-by-play guy, it was fun to listen to Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez trying to shoulder the load. Without Gary weighing them down as the “guy who never even played the sport,” they had a continuous flow of amusing and interesting baseball stories, mixed in with serious points made from a former player’s perspective. Ron correcting himself whenever he used the wrong word— “smashed up the middle, wait, no, not smashed, just hit slowly”— gave me a good chuckle.
Recap of Hitters You Should Care About:
- Curtis Granderson: 3-3, 2 RBI, R, 2B
- David Wright: 1-3, RBI
- Lucas Duda: 1-3, R
- Michael Cuddyer: 2-3, 2-run HR
- Daniel Muno: 1-3, 2B
- Wilmer Flores: 0-3
- Matt den Dekker: 1-3, R
- Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 0-4
- Anthony Recker: 0-1 and Johnny Monell 0-2 #BackupCatcherBattle
- Bartolo Colon: Did not get to hit, sadly
Up Next: The Mets will visit the Tigers on Saturday at 1:05 PM. David Price will pitch for Detroit, but previously scheduled starter Noah Syndergaard was just optioned to the minors, so it is unclear who will pitch for the Mets.
UPDATE: Steven Matz will pitch for New York.
