The Tigers beat the Mets 9-6 on Tuesday afternoon at Publix Field in Lakeland, Florida. Box Score
Pitching
Michael Wacha made his Mets debut, and was solid. The six foot six righty threw two innings, not giving up a single run, walking two and striking out two. Wacha also surrendered one hit. His fastball touched 96 mph, and his off speed stuff was dancing. He also showed off his defensive skills as well, sprinting into foul territory to catch a fly ball that J.D. Davis lost in the sun. Wacha had a great first audition for one of the final starting spots in his first outing of the spring.
Daniel Zamora and Pedro Payano followed with a perfect third and fourth innings, each with a strikeout to their credit. Then the flood gates opened.
Ryley Gilliam who received the loss threw two-thirds of an inning. Giving up five runs, all of which were earned on four hits. The former Clemson Tiger gave up two home runs, a three-run home run to Miguel Cabrera and a two-run homer to C.J. Cron. Peter Tago came in and got the final out of a painful five-run fifth inning.
Matt Blackham pitched himself out of some trouble, after walking two and giving up a hit, struck out the next two to get out of sixth inning jam.
Adonis Uceta and Kevin Smith stumbled through the final two innings of the game, with Uceta giving an earned run on two hits while striking out one. Smith surrendered three runs, two of which were earned. Riley Greene, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft took Smith deep.
Offense
In terms of star power, the biggest name that traveled to Lakeland was J.D. Davis, and unfortunately, his day was shortened due to what the Mets are calling a jammed left shoulder. Davis will undergo an MRI on Wednesday. In went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before leaving the game.
The bats were silent the first five innings, until the offense responded to the Tigers’ five-run outburst with four of their own in the top half of the sixth. 26th man hopeful Jarrett Parker hit a solo shot off of Alex Wilson. Tim Tebow hit a two-run bomb off of Wilson as well. Wilson gave up four runs in one third of an inning, concluding with a Will Toffey single. David Thompson and Braxton Lee also had one RBI as well.
Prospects Patrick Mazeika and Andrés Giménez went a combined 3-for-5, making their presence known seeing a solid amount of big league action.
On Deck
On Wednesday afternoon, the Mets are back in Port St. Lucie as they host the Houston Astros, where we will see the spring debut of Noah Syndergaard. With Austin Pruitt toeing the rubber for the Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
