Nats Homer Twice Off Houser; Fujinami Falters in 7-3 Loss

The future Mets won early. However, the present Mets would like to put this one in the past.

D.J. Stewart homered, and Francisco Lindor and Harrison Bader each had two hits, but the Washington Nationals (12-8) beat the New York Mets (9-9) 7-3 at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The game was the second half of a “doubleheader.” Game 1 saw a team of Mets prospects beat Nationals prospects 4-2.

Credit: Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Adrian Houser coughed up a three-run home run to Lane Thomas with two outs in the fourth inning that spoiled an otherwise solid performance. The homer gave the Nats a 4-2 lead, and the Mets would get no closer. Houser gave up four hits and fanned six in five innings. Luis Garcia Jr. homered off Houser in the first.

Entering the season, Houser is expected as the fourth starter after coming over from Milwaukee this winter with Tyrone Taylor in a trade for minor leaguer Coleman Crow. In seven seasons with the Brewers, where Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns had a good look at him, Houser made 97 starts and pitched to a 4.00 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 4.19 FIP. Last season, he struck out 97 in 111 1/3 innings.

Shintaro Fujinami, battling for one of the final bullpen spots, hurt his cause. He faced four batters, hitting the first and walking the next three. In between, he threw three wild pitches and would ultimately be charged with three earned runs. Junior Santos came on in relief with the bases loaded and nobody out. Santos recorded two outs before Jacob Young broke the game open with a two-run single that gave Washington a 7-2 advantage.

New York scored twice in the first on the Stewart homer and a Starling Marte RBI single. Rylan Bannon added an RBI double in the eighth.

Notes

Stewart’s home run was his first of the spring. He is 5-for-25 with two walks. Francisco Lindor went 2-for-3 with a run scored and is hitting .189. Meanwhile, Francisco Álvarez threw out Young on a steal attempt at second. Jorge Lopez and Phil Bickford threw scoreless innings. Bannon continued his hot spring, making a diving catch of a line drive at second base.

Player of the Game

Brooks Raley struck out the side while pitching a perfect sixth inning. The 35-year-old lefty will be a key piece in the bullpen. Last year, he fanned 61 in 54 2/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 3.68 FIP.