Jason Vargas continued his strong spring for New York on Friday night albeit in a losing effort as the Mets fell to the Houston Astros by a score of 7-3. The southpaw went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits while walking two and striking out three.
Manager, Mickey Callaway has been excited for what he has seen from his fifth starter thus far. “He threw the ball great. Another great outing by him. He’s executing pitches, throwing the ball in off the plate, setting up his pitches. Another standard Vargas outing.”
Vargas, 36, has shown some improvement so far in 2019, building on how he ended the previous season’s campaign. Friday’s loss to the Astros was his first of spring training as he has pitched to an 0-1 record with an ERA of 4.50 and WHIP of 1.39. Jason has tossed eighteen innings this spring, allowing nine runs on nineteen hits in that span.
Although the numbers do not blow you away by any standards, the team will take a more steady Vargas after a mostly forgettable 2018 season that saw him pitch to an ERA of 5.77 with a WHIP of 1.41.
Vargas is in his last year of the two-year pact he signed with the Metropolitans last off-season. He will earn $8 million in 2019.
