Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets (4-3) vs. Houston Astros (2-5)
Thursday, March 11, 2020 • 6:05 p.m.
FITTEAM Ballpark • West Palm Beach, FL
RHP Jacob deGrom (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Zack Greinke (0-1, 9.00)
Recapping Tuesday’s Game
The Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday by a score of 5-3 thanks to a go-ahead hit by top prospect Ronny Mauricio in the bottom of the seventh. In a small sample size this spring, he owns a .909 OPS. Taijuan Walker allowed two runs in two innings, and while his first inning was great, he also confirmed he’s going to wear the shark-tooth necklace Turk Wendell sent to him during his next start.
The real story is how good the Mets bullpen was, though. Edwin Diaz had a great inning of work, Familia allowed a walk and that’s it, and Miguel Castro struck out two in his inning. Good news all the way around.
Mets Lineup
- Brandon Nimmo — LF
- Francisco Lindor — SS
- Michael Conforto — RF
- Pete Alonso — 1B
- Dominic Smith — DH
- Jeff McNeil — 2B
- J.D. Davis — 3B
- James McCann — C
- Albert Almora Jr. — CF
Astros Lineup
- Jose Siri — CF
- Chas McCormick — RF
- Steven Souza Jr. — LF
- Taylor Jones — 1B
- Martin Maldonado — C
- Grae Kessinger — 3B
- Robel Garcia — 2B
- Jeremy Pena — SS
- Colton Shaver — DH
What We are Looking For Thursday
I guess we are using the phrase “looking for” very lightly. The Mets have a made-for-TV spring training game, starting at 6:05 PM Thursday night. Spring Training TV coverage is usually controlled by the home team, and the Astros haven’t had any TV games yet. So, deGrom is going to go against Grienke, again, and no one will be able to see it. There will be radio coverage by the Astros announcers.
Anyway, deGrom is the main story, and he was so good his last time out. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out three over two innings with a fastball that sat in the high 90’s, but touched 99-100 multiple times. I’m also in favor of him making all his spring starts against the Astros because he gets to face more major leaguers who won’t see him in the regular season.
The Mets’ lineup looks pretty close to what it could during the regular season on days when there is a designated hitter, although I’m sure there will be a lot of debate about Jeff McNeil hitting sixth. Anyway, it’s a great game – that we won’t get to see. Speaking of McNeil, he’s been off to a slower start this spring with one hit in 11 at-bats. On the other hand, leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo has been on a tear, slashing .417/.500/.750 so far.
Check 213 Miles From Shea! Let’s Go Mets!
