The Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 9-3, on Monday afternoon as their spring training slate continued.
Here are the takeaways…
– Tylor Megill, in a battle with David Peterson for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation, continued to make a strong case for himself.
With Max Scherzer back in Port St. Lucie pitching in a minor league game, Megill was largely dominant, firing four scoreless innings while allowing three hits, walking one, and striking out three. His spring training ERA is 1.08.
Megill’s fastball topped out around 95 mph, and one of the hits he allowed came on a routine fly ball that was lost in the sun by center fielder Tim Locastro.
Whoever is tabbed for the final rotation spot will likely get an extended period of time to do their thing, since Jose Quintana is expected to be out for a while due to a rib injury.
– Ronny Mauricio finally cooled off, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
– Mark Vientos had a tough day at the plate, striking out in all three of his at-bats.
– Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-3 as his batting average dipped to .105.
– Brett Baty entered in the middle of the game as a pinch-hitter and struck out in both of his at-bats.
– Darin Ruf got his first hit of the spring after going eight at-bats without one, dunking a bloop single into right field. Ruf added an RBI double in the seventh inning and finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI, run scored, and a walk.
– Tomas Nido blasted a three-run homer to center field in the fifth inning.
– David Robertson tossed a perfect inning, striking out one.
– Stephen Nogosek, battling for one of the final spots in the bullpen, had a rough day. He allowed three runs on two hits while walking three and striking out three in 1.2 innings as his ERA rose to 7.36.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets host the Washington Nationals on Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.