The Mets dropped their Grapefruit League finale to the Washington Nationals on Thursday afternoon, falling at Tradition Field by a score of 4-0.
The Mets sent prospect Cory Mazzoni to the mound, while the Nats countered with the formidable Jordan Zimmermann.
Mazzoni cruised through the first before running into trouble in the second inning. Mazzoni gave up a walk and three hits, including an RBI single to his counterpart, Zimmermann.
That would be the last pitch Cory would throw, as he was immediately removed from the game with an apparent arm injury. John Lannan would come in for Mazzoni and was impressive, working out of Mazzoni’s mess in the second before pitching a full– and perfect– inning in the third.
The Mets could never get it going with the bats against Zimmermann or any of Washington’s relievers. New York failed to make a dent in the run column, and Curtis Granderson had an especially rough day, striking out three times and leaving several runners on base.
However, there were some positive signs for the Mets at the plate. Eric Young had three hits, and Ike David had a pair of base knocks himself. Travis d’Arnaud made solid contact with a few balls and flirted with the wall a couple times, but was unable to reach base.
Giancarlo Alvarado took the mound after Lannan and tossed two scoreless frames before giving way to Scott Rice, who tossed a scoreless inning of his own.
Jeurys Familia, who has been great all spring, looked very solid in a scoreless seventh. However, Familia was battered around after Terry Collins sent him back out there for the eighth, and he ended up being charged with two runs in the inning while only managing to retire one batter.
Beck Wheeler came in after Familia and got a couple outs, before turning the ball over to the recently re-signed Kyle Farnsworth for the ninth. Farnsworth was a bit wild, and ended up giving up a run on a wild pitch.
The highlight of the game for the Mets was Juan Lagares, who made a sparkling diving catch in center in the eighth inning. Lagares is one of the best defenders in baseball, and while his amazing plays are never surprising, they are always breathtaking regardless.
However, Lagares’ main competitor for a starting job, Eric Young, gets the game ball today. Young went 3-for-4 and flashed his speed both on the bases and in the outfield. The battle for the final outfield spot looks like it will come down to the wire.
The Mets have had a pretty nice spring with the bats, so I’m not too concerned about today’s no-show offensively. However, I am very concerned about our bullpen… hopefully some of Sandy’s younger arms and bargain-bin veterans can step up when the season starts, and hopefully we have some leads for them to protect.
The Mets will play a couple games against the Toronto Blue Jays in Montreal, before heading to New York to (finally) start their season on Monday against the Nationals.
Note from Tommy Rothman: Hey Mets Fans, this is my first recap of the Spring, and I will be contributing many recaps (and articles) during the upcoming season. Let’s Go Mets!!!
