No More Phony Baloney

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In the final fake game of the year, the Miami Marlins done did it to the Mets yet again, this time walking them off and beating them 4-3. 

Sandy Alcantara and David Peterson hooked up for a fun little pitching matchup for the first five innings. Alcantara was perfect the first time through New York’s batting order. Petey wasn’t perfect, but the game was scoreless in the bottom of the third when the Marlins struck first. Jesús Bastidas reached on what was ruled a single but should have been a throwing error on the usually reliable Marcus Semien. The speedy Andrew Pintar easily reached on an infield hit of his own, this one to third. A Javier Sanoja fly out moved Bastidas to third. He then scored off of a Peterson wild pitch. Two ground outs ended the inning. 

The top of the fourth showed how exciting watching the new top three batters in the Met lineup can be. Francisco Lindor singled on a sharp grounder that went off the first baseman’s glove. Juan Soto followed with a hard-hit single to center. Then Bo Bichette doubled home Lindor and moved Soto to third. Jorge Polanco followed that with a sac fly scoring Soto. Just like that the Mets had the lead. One batter later, Brett Baty drove in Bichette. This was all off of Alcantara, mind you.

Peterson got into a jam in the fourth but wiggled his way out of it. With runners on first and third and one out, the tall lefty picked off Heriberto Hernández at first. Then he struck out Kemp Alderman on a four-seamer. 

David allowed one earned run in five innings of work. He walked one and struck out four. 50 of his 76 pitches were for strikes. Petey threw his four-seamer more than usual. He impressively got 12 swings and misses. He finishes the spring with a 4.15 ERA. The four-seam velo was down 1.6 mph compared to last year, but that isn’t Sean Manaea bad. 

Luke Weaver took over for Peterson in the sixth and he walked the ballpark. More specifically, he walked three with a strike out thrown in there. Only nine of his 23 pitches were for strikes. The Marlins though only managed to push one run across in the half inning.

But they scored two to win it in the bottom of the ninth off of righty Parker Carlson. After Pintar struck out swinging, Andrew Salas singled. Jay Beshears tripled, scoring Salas, and then Beshears scored on a Spencer Bramwell sacrifice fly. 

The Mets finish their spring with a 14-13-2 record. Which is essentially 83-79. Oops.

Luis Robert Jr. went 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in his worst performance as a Met so far.

Carson Benge went 1 for 3 thanks to a bunt base hit and two strikeouts. Benge finished his Grapefruit League season with a .366 batting average and an .874 OPS. He’s shown every tool except the power tool, and with Mike Tauchman’s injury he’s a presumptive lock to make the squad.

Tauchman tore his meniscus in his left knee. He’ll need surgery. The timeline is “to be determined.” Doctor Google said a full recovery from surgery can take as long as three to six months, but that seems the worst case scenario. 

Carlos Mendoza said they haven’t made a decision yet regarding Benge making the big league club or not, which is silly and a lie. 

MJ Melendez will start the year in Triple-A so he can get at-bats on the regular.

Craig Kimbrel was informed he will not make the team. The grizzled vet is still weighing his options - he can stick around or try to find a different team. If he chooses the former, he would stay in Florida and not take a minor league assignment. Mendoza claimed a reason why he didn’t survive the final cuts was because they’re looking for a reliever that can throw 35+ pitches, and Kimbrel ain’t it. It’ll either be Richard Lovelady or Bryan Hudson or someone on waivers (Joey Lucchesi is available again…) that’ll take the final bullpen spot.

Mark Simon started a newsletter dedicated to the 1986 Mets. It’s the 40th anniversary of those bad boys you know. I recommend you subscribe. 

Anthony DiComo conducted another AMA yesterday. Within, he pointed out that among the 308 batters with at least 25 balls in play this spring, Mark Vientos ranks 27th in average exit velocity. 

Previously teased, the Mets unveiled a big mural outside the Queens Center Mall. You can scan the QR code there for chances to win tickets to Opening Day and regular season games at Citi Field. The mural features Freddy Peralta, Lindor, Soto, and Bichette.

The Phillies signed their ace left-hander Cristopher Sanchez to a six-year extension through 2032. He was set to be a free agent after the season.

Joel Sherman talked to Lindor and wrote about his durability.

On this day in 2017, after not being granted time at the plate, Asdrúbal Cabrera had words with Ángel Hernández, resulting in his ejection from the game. Cabrera then took a stroll towards the exit in right field. I set it to the sad Hulk music. It was great, trust me.

Today the Mets play a scrimmage against each other. Nolan McLean and Manaea will start for the teams. No TV or radio, naturally.