Mets Blanked by Marlins, 2-0, as Manaea Struggles and Offense Goes Silent

The New York Mets scored 0 runs Friday night in Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 7 men on base in a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins. Sean Manaea gave up a solo home run to Connor Norby in the bottom of the 1st. That was the whole game.

Norby’s shot to left came 2 batters into Manaea’s spring debut, before the Mets had even recorded an out on offense. Manaea settled in after that, finishing 3 innings on 1 hit and 1 walk, but the damage was done. The Marlins didn’t need another run, and they got one anyway in the 6th when Heriberto Hernandez hit a solo shot to right-center off Bryan Hudson.

The 6th Inning Said Everything

The Mets had their clearest shot in the top of the 6th. Marcus Semien led off with a single to center. Francisco Alvarez followed with a line drive to left that put runners on the corners with 1 out. Ryan Clifford then lined sharply back to pitcher Michael Petersen, who flipped to first for the out. Alvarez moved to 2nd. Tyrone Taylor struck out looking to end it. 2 runners, 2 chances, 0 runs.

That sequence defined the night. The Mets made contact when it mattered, they just had nothing to show for it. Clifford lined out to Petersen, who threw to first to complete the out. Taylor’s at-bat wasn’t any better. He took a called strike 3 and the Mets dugout had to sit with a goose egg for the 6th straight inning.

Alvarez was the one Mets hitter who looked sharp all night. He went 2-for-3, added a double off John King in the 4th on a sharp fly ball to center, and moved to 3rd on a Taylor groundout. He was stranded there. He’s now hitting .400 this spring with an OPS of 1.100, and the approach at the plate looks disciplined early.

Manaea and the Mets’ Bullpen

Manaea’s final line was 3 innings, 1 hit, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. In a vacuum that reads fine. The Norby homer came on a fly ball to left, which tells you more than the line does. It wasn’t a mistake pitch driven out to right. It was a well-struck ball that caught the wind or found a gap, and Manaea gave up nothing else after it. He threw strikes, got weak contact, and handed the ball to Craig Kimbrel with a 1-0 deficit.

Kimbrel, Devin Williams, and Hudson all worked scoreless frames before Hudson’s wild pitch in the 6th moved Norby to 2nd base and set the table for Hernandez’s insurance homer. Douglas Orellana and Ryan Lambert cleaned up the rest. The bullpen allowed 1 run on 2 hits over 6 innings total. The starters weren’t the problem tonight.

12 Strikeouts, 0 Runs

The Mets punched out 12 times. Semien went down twice, Barnes twice, Taylor once, Ewing once. The lineup cycled through 5 different catchers and outfielders as the game went on, and by the 7th it looked more like an organizational depth chart than a batting order. Several of the late-game strikeouts came from players on the roster bubble, which matters for context. Still, 12 strikeouts against a Marlins staff built for spring reps is not a number anyone in the organization will feel good about.

Max Meyer got the win, throwing 3 shutout innings and allowing only Vidal Brujan’s single in the 3rd. Josh Ekness closed it out in the 9th with 2 strikeouts and a flyout. The Mets fall to 5-5.

Next up is another spring date, another look at who is locking down a spot and who isn’t. Alvarez’s bat is the early positive to take out of this one. The situational hitting, and the 4 times the Mets left runners in scoring position with 2 outs, is what needs fixing before the games start counting.