Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

José Quintana took the mound for his spring training debut against the Houston Astros on Tuesday. Looking to display his All-Star stuff, Quintana struggled against the 2022 World Series Champions.

After getting Kyle Tucker to fly out, Quintana’s rough day started with Jake Meyers. The Astros centerfielder doubled against the Mets’ left-hander, which began the barrage of extra-base hits in the inning. José Abreu and Korey Lee followed with run-scoring doubles of their own, bringing the score to 4-0. David Hensley provided the finishing blow, hitting a two-run home run off the batter’s eye. Buck Showalter then pulled Quintana, who allowed four hits, five runs, and one walk over 2/3 innings.

The Mets bullpen took over from there, providing four scoreless innings in a row. Troy Miller pitched 1 1/3 innings, recording a strikeout due to Yainer Diaz failing to get into the box on time. After Miller, Edwin Díaz pitched a scoreless third inning, striking out two batters on 17 pitches. Adam Ottavino came into relief for the fourth inning, escaping a bases-loaded jam after allowing a single and walking two batters.

The Mets started their attempt at a comeback in the bottom of the fifth, on the back of a player trying to make the MLB roster. Misael Tamarez walked Eduardo Escobar and Omar Narváez to start the inning, setting the stage for DJ Stewart. The former Oriole drove in Escobar with an opposite-field double, driving in the first Mets’ run of the day. With Nick Meyer—who replaced Narváez after walking—on third, Jeff McNeil grounded out to advance Stewart to third and bring the score to 5-2. The Mets weren’t finished in the third inning, and Francisco Lindor singled to right field to bring home Stewart, which cut the deficit to 5-3.

The Mets bullpen continued their scoreless effort after the offense scored three runs. Jeff Brigham, Zach Greene, and Eric Orze all looked solid, walking three and striking out four batters over three scoreless innings. However, the Astros broke away from the Mets in the top of the eighth against T.J. McFarland.

Jordan Brewer started the inning with a long home run off McFarland to increase the Astros’ lead to 6-3. McFarland settled down and recorded two outs, but had trouble finishing the inning. Scott Schreiber singled to right field to extend the inning, leading to Cesar Salazar‘s two-run home run, which brought the score to 8-3. In total, McFarland—a non-roster invitee—allowed three runs in the frame.

After the Astros added three runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets’ top prospects showed some fight. Ronny Mauricio started the inning by walking and advanced to second base after Tim Locastro was hit by a pitch. Brett Baty followed with a single up the middle to drive home Mauricio, which cut the deficit to 8-4, however the scoring stopped there, and the Mets fell to the Astros. They’re 2-3 this spring.

Prospect Watch

Mauricio and Baty continued their stellar spring training performances against the Astros on Tuesday. Baty singled up the middle in the bottom of the eighth, bringing his spring training batting average to .571. Mauricio walked and scored a run, raising his spring training OPS to 1.762.

On Deck

The Mets play again on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins. The game will be at Roger Dean Chevrolet in Jupiter, Florida, and can be listened to on FOX 940 AM. The game will not be televised.

The starters for Wednesday’s game are Tylor Megill and Sandy Alcantara.