Photos From Port St. Lucie: Starters Enjoy Big Day in Loss

Yesterday, the Mets were defeated by the Houston Astros 8-7 in a thriller at First Data Field. Noah Syndergaard took the mound for his second start of the spring, and the Mets sent out a ton of their top tier talent.

Despite the loss, the Mets big guns certainly gave fans the show they were hoping for. Cather Wilson Ramos had himself a day at the plate. The veteran backstop went 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a long grand slam off of top prospect Forest Whitley.

Ramos has been enjoying a nice little start to the spring. He has shown a short and simple stroke at the plate. Through four games, Ramos has six hits in ten at-bats including his home run from yesterday.

There is no denying that when healthy, Ramos is one of the top offensive threats at the catcher position. Over a combined 111 games with the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies last season, Ramos hit .306/.358/.487 with 22 doubles, 15 home runs, a 130 OPS+, and an .845 OPS.

Yesterday newly acquired closer Edwin Diaz made his first appearance in orange and blue. The young closer worked one inning, and showed some signs of rust at first. He walked a pair of batters, but also struck out one in a scoreless inning.

The Mets sent out most of their big guns, as Jeurys Familia and lefty Justin Wilson also made their first appearances of the spring.

Postgame, Mickey Callaway unsurprisingly told reporters that Diaz is destined for the closers role in 2019. “He’s probably the best closer in baseball, to take him out of that role would be tough,” Callaway said.

Last season with the Mariners, Diaz recorded a league leading 57 saves while posting a stellar 1.96 ERA and 0.79 WHIP.

Michael Conforto also had himself a nice little day at the park. With the Mets down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Conforto took a 94 MPH Justin Verlander fastball deep to right for his first home run of the spring.

Later in the game, Conforto drove in J.D. Davis with his second hit of the game, an RBI single to center, to cut the Astros lead to 5-2.

Despite a slow start to the 2018 season, Conforto finished the year hitting .243/.350/.448, and set career highs with 25 doubles, 28 home runs, 84 walks, and 82 RBI. After his strong second half, Conforto seems destined for a breakout 2019 season.

Later in the game Mets prospect Andres Gimenez made an appearance. The young shortstop drew a walk in his only at-bat of the afternoon, and later came around to score.

Gimenez reached Double-A at just 19 years old last season. In 37 games for Double-A Binghamton, he hit .277/.344/.358 with a .702 OPS, nine doubles, and ten stolen bases.

In total, he played in 122 games and had 29 doubles, six triples, 38 stolen bases, while posting a .281/.347/.409 slash line. Gimenez is viewed as one of top defensive shortstop prospects, but has some more developing to do offensively.