New York Mets bats go cold in 3-2 Spring Training loss to Nationals

Tobias Myers looked sharp for the New York Mets on Saturday, but the offense fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. While it is just spring training, we saw some interesting things from the pitching staff and the hitters.

Myers got the start and he pitched well, he went three innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He struck out four batters and only walked one. He had a 1-2-3 first inning. He got Nasim Nuñez swinging, got a flyout, and then a groundout. Myers ran into a little trouble in the third inning after a couple of hits, but he escaped with minimal damage. He threw 46 pitches, and 34 of them were strikes. That is a 74 percent strike rate. He mixed his pitches well and kept the Nationals off balance. He only walked one batter in the second inning.

Bullpen Ups and Downs

But here is the problem with the bullpen. We saw Craig Kimbrel take the mound in the fourth inning. He replaced Myers, and it was a bit rocky. Kimbrel gave up a double to Brady House right away. Then a groundout moved the runner over, and a sacrifice fly brought the run home. Kimbrel also walked two batters and had a base stolen against him. He did not record a strikeout. However, Luis Garcia looked great. He pitched a clean fifth inning with a flyout, another flyout, and a strikeout. Joey Gerber also stood out with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Hitters Trying to Find Their Rhythm

Mark Vientos finally got a hit, as he had been struggling a bit, but he lined a sharp double to right field in the seventh inning. That hit scored a run and made it a 3-1 game. Brett Baty played first base and went hitless in his two at-bats. But he did hit a line drive to right field in the second inning. Even though it was an out, the contact was loud. And that is why it matters, because the metrics usually reward guys who make hard contact consistently.

Mike Tauchman also looked solid. He hit a double in the third inning. He is trying to win a job in the outfield, and extra-base hits certainly help his case.

Francisco Alvarez caught for a few innings. He did not get a hit, but he did walk in the second inning after winning an ABS pitch challenge. Ronny Mauricio played shortstop and struck out twice. Marcus Semien, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette all started the game but went quiet at the plate. Soto grounded out and flew out, as it was a slow day for the big names, but they are just getting their timing back.

Late Game Push

The younger guys tried to rally late in the game. Nick Morabito replaced Soto in left field, and in the eighth inning, Morabito hit a line-drive double that scored Ji Hwan Bae. Antonio Jimenez also picked up a hit in that inning. Guys like Jacob Reimer, Jared Young, Ben Rortvedt all drew a walks, as Young scored a run in the seventh.

However Jose Ramos struck out twice. Ryan Clifford also came in to today’s game to pinch run, as well as striking out later in the game. Mitch Voit grounded out and flew out in his two plate appearance, and Matt Rudick pinch-ran in the ninth inning. The Mets had the tying run on third base in the ninth, but Reimer flew out to center fielder to end the game. It is a loss, but the main thing is getting reps.