If you like all of the pitching storylines this spring for the Mets, then today’s game is for you. The Mets will have Sean Manaea make his spring Mets debut this afternoon. Manaea is a key part of raising the overall floor of the Mets rotation from last season to this year. Then José Buttó will be pitching in his second game this spring, looking to build on his last start as he competes with Joey Lucchesi and Tylor Megill for the final rotation spot.

Things get really interesting after Buttó’s outing as top prospects Christian Scott and Mike Vasil look to get some spring training action. Both are projected as rotation options for the Mets later in 2024. Then Jorge López and Brooks Raley both get some time to show off the Mets’ back of the bullpen. So many pitching stories to follow!

Tuning into today’s game may be a bit novel. The Marlins will be broadcasting the game on their official page and the Mets radio crew will be calling the game locally. Good luck to everyone trying to sync their internet streams of the game to the audio from the Mets radio broadcast!

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Mets Lineup

1. DJ Stewart RF
2. Francisco Lindor SS
3. Pete Alonso 1B
4. Francisco Álvarez C
5. Brett Baty 3B
6. Mark Vientos DH
7. Tyrone Taylor CF
8. José Iglesias 2B
9. Taylor Kohlwey LF

Opposing Lineup

1. Luis Arráez 2B
2. Tim Anderson SS
3. Jazz Chisholm Jr. CF
4. Avisaíl García RF
5. Nick Gordon LF
6. Jon Berti 2B
7. Trey Mancini 1B
8. Nick Fortes DH
9. Curt Casali C

Game Notes

• Yesterday, the Mets fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, in Jupiter. Righty Luis Severino made his first Grapefruit League start and threw 2.0 hitless innings. Infielder Mark Vientos launched an opposite-field solo home run in the second to put the Mets on the board.
• Through seven games this spring, Mets pitchers have posted a 2.36 ERA (16 ER/61.0 IP), the best mark in the majors. The staff’s 1.18 WHIP is the third-lowest in the majors, while their .219 opponent batting average is the fourth-lowest mark.
• Today the Mets will play their first of seven Grapefruit League games against Miami. Last season, the Mets went 9-4 against the Fish, their best record against a division.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Sean Manaea’s first start: Manaea pitched in 37 games last year making 10 starts for the Giants totaling 117 2/3 innings with a 4.44 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.241 WHIP, and a 95 ERA+. His last four games in September were all starts where he had a 2.25 ERA, and 3.21 FIP over 24 innings of work. His season was marred early by a stretch of five games, four starts, where he allowed 23 runs (17 earned) over 14 2/3 innings. After that stretch, he pitched 91 2/3 innings with a 3.44 ERA. The Mets are hoping to get that version of Manaea this season.
2. Top Prospects take the mound: Christian Scott made noise this off-season as he started showing up on top-100 prospect lists for the league. He’s coming off of a season where he had a 2.57 ERA over 19 starts (87 2/3 innings) mainly between Binghamton and Brooklyn. Mike Vasil last season had a 3.71 ERA over 10 starts in Binghamton before making 16 starts in Syracuse where he he allowed a lot more runs due to a bump in his walks. His strikeout rate between both leagues was nearly identical. Both players project to start in Syracuse this year (barring a massive surprise/turn of events). Hopefully, the Marlins still have major league hitters in the lineup when they get on the mound today.
3. Alonso and Álvarez lead the offense: Alonso comes into today’s game with a 1.611 OPS from hitting 4-for-9 with three doubles and a homer this spring. Álvarez has a 1.625 OPS that is buoyed by a homer and three walks already this spring (for comparison he walked only twice last spring over 14 games).

Let’s go Mets!

The post Spring Training Game Chat: Mets vs Marlins appeared first on Metsmerized.

The season continues to wind down as September rolls on. The New York Mets have dropped two in a row to Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. They will look to avoid a sweep in the series finale Sunday evening at 6:05 p.m. ET (rescheduled from 1:05 p.m. ET late Saturday night). José Butto will get the ball for the Mets on Sunday afternoon.

José Butto. Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

Per Tim Britton of The Athletic, right-handed pitcher Peyton Battenfield was in the Mets’ clubhouse on Saturday prior to their game against the Phillies.

Latest MLB News

According to Jordan McPherson and Andre C. Fernandez of The Miami Herald, a UCL sprain ended Sandy Alcántara’s season.

The Chicago Cubs announced that they placed right-handed pitcher Brad Boxberger on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Sept. 22) with a right forearm strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Keegan Thompson to the Iowa Cubs.

The Miami Marlins announced that they selected right-handed pitcher Jeff Lindgren from Triple-A Jacksonville and placed right-handed pitcher Eury Perez on the 15-day injured list with left SI joint inflammation, retroactive to Sept. 21.

The Tampa Bay Rays announced that they placed infielder Brandon Lowe on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Sept. 22) with a right patella fracture and selected outfielder Raimel Tapia to the major league roster.

Latest on MMO

Sean Kenny recapped the Mets’ minor league affiliate games from Friday, September 23 that included Brandon McIlwain’s walk-off bases loaded walk for Triple-A Syracuse that pushed them past the Rail Riders 4-3 in extra innings.

Chris Bello discussed how Brett Baty’s clutch home run is a confidence booster for the rookie third baseman.

Allison Waxman takes a look at how the Mets’ rookies fit into their 2024 plans.

Alexis Farinacci recaps the Mets’ 7-5 loss to the Phillies on Saturday afternoon.

On This Date in Mets History

1969: The 1969 Mets clinched the NL East division.

Birthdays:

• Drew Smith (30)
• Hunter Strickland (35)
• Bernard Gilkey (57)
• Hubie Brooks (67)

The post Morning Briefing: Series Finale Against Phillies Moved To 6:05 P.M. appeared first on Metsmerized.