The New York Mets sent Joey Lucchesi to make his first start of the spring, and he headlined a game marked by pitching. In the 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins, Met fans had traumatic flashbacks of a “Diaz” allowing a walk-off home run.
Nice win by the Marlins today on a walk-off 2 run HR by Joe Dunand. Don Mattingly has made it a point to mention how impressive he’s been this spring. (? @Marlins) pic.twitter.com/2GqNAlCiJN
— Will Manso (@WillManso) March 17, 2021
Lucchesi was incredible as he continues to make his case to earn a starting spot. He pitched three hitless innings and struckout four Marlins. Through five innings, Lucchesi has only allowed three walks and punched out seven. Robert Gsellman followed with two innings out of the bullpen and his only blemish was a Jazz Chisholm solo homer.
Yennsy Diaz got the opportunity to record the save but a leadoff walk spelled trouble in the ninth. Joe Dunand made him pay with a line-drive two-run homer to walk it off for the Marlins. Dunand has put together a nice spring training. He is 5-for-17 with two home runs and six runs batted in.
The Mets bats were quiet after an impressive offensive output against the Houston Astros. Albert Almora provided the lone runs with his double in the fifth inning. Three of his five hits this spring have gone for extra bases. Francisco Lindor talked about finally getting into a good hitting position during Monday’s game and it continued to carry over. Lindor recorded two more hits to get his batting average up to .280.
The Washington Nationals venture into Clover Park for a 1:10 p.m. ET start on SNY. Jon Lester makes his first spring training start against Marcus Stroman (1-0, 3.24 ERA).