Wednesday, February 28, 2024 • 1:10 PM
Clover Park • Port St Lucie, FL
RHP Miles Mikolas (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Reed Garrett (0-0, 18.00)
SNY

Break up the Mets! The Mets stretched their spring training winning streak to three games yesterday with a 7-1 win over the Marlins. Overall it was a solid day in the office for the Mets. Ji-Man Choi, in camp as a non-roster invitee, went 1-for-2 at the plate with his first homer of the season. It also means the Mets have hit a home run in each spring training game so far this season.

The pitching stole the show yesterday. Adrian Houser had a solid outing in his Mets debut, allowing a hit and nothing else while striking out one batter in two innings of work. Nate Lavender burst onto the scene on Saturday in his first spring training outing by striking out the side. He added another clean inning (with another strikeout) yesterday.

Today, the attention turns to the Mets bullpen as Reed Garrett, Grant Hartwig, and Josh Walker are all scheduled to appear in the game. All three players are on the Mets 40-man roster and saw time in the majors last season. All three are now competing for a bullpen spot.

Mets Lineup

  1. Starling Marte RF
  2. Francisco Lindor SS
  3. Pete Alonso 1B
  4. DJ Stewart LF
  5. Mark Vientos DH
  6. Brett Baty 3B
  7. Trayce Thompson CF
  8. Yolmer Sánchez 2B
  9. Tomás Nido C

Opposing Lineup

  1. Dylan Carlson CF
  2. Alec Burleson RF
  3. Nolan Gorman 2B
  4. Luken Baker DH
  5. Alfonso Rivas LF
  6. Jared Young 1B
  7. Pedro Pages C
  8. Jose Fermin 3B
  9. Arquimedes Gamboa SS

Game Notes

Outfield prospect Drew Gilbert had a two-run single in the win on Tuesday, and fellow outfield prospect Alex Ramírez had an RBI double.

Check out our article on Houser’s first start with the Mets.

Darryl Strawberry will be a guest instructor in Mets camp through March 2.

The Mets are monitoring the asking price for Jordan Montgomery.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Last Bullpen Spot Competition: As the Mets added more and more arms to the bullpen this off-season, several pitchers that saw time last season in the majors started to fall into the danger zone of not making the team out of camp this year. Garrett, Hartwig and Walker are all battling for one of the last couple of spots in the bullpen. All three are scheduled to pitch today. Garrett, starting today, had a 5.82 ERA, 74 ERA+ over 17 innings last season. Hartwig had a 4.84 ERA, 88 ERA+ over 35 1/3 innings. Walker posted an 8.10 ERA, 54 ERA+ over 10 innings. The Mets signings in January and February this year makes it feel like all three players are trending downwards, strong performances today can help reverse that trend.
  2. Starling Marte makes his spring debut: Last year was a disappointing year for the two-time all-star who struggled with injuries, leading to only 86 games played and a .248/.301/.324 (73 OPS+) slash line. In his first season with the Mets, Marte was a critical component of the Mets lineup with a 132 OPS+. His injury down the stretch could have played a role in the Mets not overtaking the Braves for the 2022 division title. A healthy Marte is a huge boon for the 2024 Mets.
  3. Checking in on the third base position battle. The Mets are trending right now towards Brett Baty as the everyday third basemen and Mark Vientos as the everyday DH. Both are in those positions for this afternoon’s game. So far this spring, Brett has played in two games, going 1-for-4 at the plate, with two runs scored and a strikeout. Vientos has played in three games, going 2-for-7 at the plate with one run scored and a strikeout.

Let’s go Mets!