Friday, March 7, 2025 • 6:05 PM
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches • West Palm Beach, FL
RHP Paul Blackburn (0-1, 11.57) vs. RHP Trevor Williams (1-0, 6.32)
The Team 980 (Nationals Radio)

The Mets head south tonight for another night spring training game as they take on the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla. Despite the 6:05 p.m. time slot, there will be no television coverage of tonight’s contest. Unfortunately, this is not terribly surprising as MASN, the regional sports network of the Nationals, is only broadcasting seven games this spring. For context, SNY & PIX11 are televising 14 games.

Anyways, we have a back-of-the-rotation matchup as Paul Blackburn, trying to break camp as the Mets’ fifth starter, takes on Trevor Williams, who pitched in 40 games for New York between the 2021 and 2022 seasons in a swingman role.

Paul Blackburn. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

  1. Francisco Lindor – SS
  2. Francisco Alvarez – C
  3. Pete Alonso – 1B
  4. Mark Vientos – 3B
  5. Jeff McNeil – 2B
  6. Joey Meneses – DH
  7. Tyrone Taylor – CF
  8. Alexander Canario – RF
  9. José Azocar – LF

Opposing Lineup

  1. CJ Abrams – SS
  2. Dylan Crews – CF
  3. James Wood – LF
  4. Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
  5. Paul DeJong – 3B
  6. Luis García Jr. – 2B
  7. Alex Call – RF
  8. Andrés Chaparro – DH
  9. Andrew Knizner – C

Game Notes

  • RHPs Max Kranick, José Butto, Huascar Brazobán and Chris Devenski are all scheduled to pitch after Blackburn tonight.
  • OF Carson Benge is on the travel roster, meaning he could make his spring debut for the big league club. He was selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft with the No. 19 overall pick and hit .273/.420/.436 in 15 games with Single-A St. Lucie last year.
  • Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that left-handed reliever A.J. Minter threw a live batting practice session on Friday. The 31-year-old signed a two-year deal worth $22 million that includes a player option for 2026 with the Mets this offseason. He had his 2024 campaign cut short due to a hip injury that required surgery in August.

Three Things To Watch For

  1. Trevor Williams. Williams was a crucial pitcher for the 2022 Mets, posting a 3.21 ERA and 120 ERA+ over 89 2/3 innings spread over nine starts and 30 total games. He then signed with the Nationals and had a rough 2023 with a 5.55 ERA and 77 ERA+ over 144 1/3 innings and 30 starts. Last season though, Williams was terrific when healthy. He recorded a 2.03 ERA and 199 ERA+ over 13 starts, 11 of which happened before he missed multiple months with a flexor injury. Which version of Williams do the Nationals have in their rotation this year?
  2. Paul Blackburn. Blackburn’s Mets results in 2024 were either good or terrible on a start-to-start basis, with not much in-between. That trend has continued over a small sample size this spring. In his first outing, he pitched one inning while striking out a batter and not giving up a hit, walk or run. In his second start, however, he allowed four runs (three earned) off three hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings.
  3. Max Kranick. The biggest surprise for the Mets this spring has been Kranick. He hasn’t allowed a run over 5 1/3 innings and hasn’t ceded a hit in his last two appearances either. Beyond the stats, his stuff has just looked great. His proStuff+ was a 139 with a 71.4% whiff rate in his last outing on March 3.

Let’s go Mets!