The Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, on Wednesday afternoon as their spring training slate continued.
Here are the takeaways…
– Justin Verlander was dominant, tossing four hitless innings before allowing a leadoff double in the fifth. The only other runner who reached against Verlander did so because of an error by second baseman Jose Peraza.
In Verlander’s five scoreless innings, he allowed one hit, walked none, and struck out eight. His spring training ERA is 1.59.
– Brett Baty entered to play third base in the top of the sixth. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance and singled to left-center (on a 100 mph fastball from Jordan Hicks) his second and final time up. He is hitting .400 this spring.
– Ronny Mauricio got another hit, ripping a single to center field in the third inning. He finished 1-for-3.
– Mark Vientos got the start at third base and went 0-for-2 as his batting average dipped to .268.
– Tomas Nido‘s torrid spring continued as he hit another homer — a solo shot to right field in the fifth.
– Darin Ruf went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
– Drew Smith spun a perfect inning, striking out two.
– All of the Cardinals’ runs came against Mets minor leaguers: Two against Justin Courtney and two against Nolan Clenney.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets travel to play the Washington Nationals on Thursday at 6:05 p.m.