New York Mets 10, Miami Marlins 3, ST G3 Recap

The New York Mets and the Miami Marlins went and played themselves a baseball game on Sunday at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie, FL. The Mets jumped all over starter Tyler Cloyd for five runs in the first two innings, then later jumped on Zac Gallen for five more. Not a great day all around for Miami’s bottom line, but there were good points to be had.

• Dietrich and Wallach both went deep with solo homers from the leadoff spot.
• Pablo Lopez struck out three in 1 ¹⁄₃ hitless innings of work.
• Ben Meyer was effective, striking out a pair in 1 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless work (he allowed two hits).
• Justin Nicolino was likewise effective, limiting the Mets to a hit in two innings of work.
• Despite his throwing error, Isaac Galloway was solid and productive as a “fourth outfielder.”
• Monte Harrison’s double continued his trend of going one-for-two in each appearance.

What follows is a very much in-depth recap of the going’s-on in central Florida. If you like your recaps short-and-sweet, then stop right here and check out the box score and the highlights. If you like the down-and-dirty details, by all means, read on.

Top 1

Right hander Robert Gsellman tossed the first pitch low for a ball at 12:12PM to get things started, then got leadoff Marlin LF Derek Dietrich to ground out on the next pitch to the first baseman for an easy 3-1 putout. CF Lewis Brinson, who batted .331 in triple-A last season, stepped in and struck out swinging on four pitches from Gsellman. Four-time all star 2B Starlin Castro then chopped out to the second baseman for a 4-3 putout and the end of Miami's half of the first. Marlins 0, Mets -

Bottom 1

Asdrubel Cabrera worked Miami starting right hander Tyler Cloyd to a full count in an eventual nine-pitch groundout to Castro, who tossed it to first baseman Garrett Cooper for the easy 4-3. Yoenis Cespedes then hit Cloyd's sixth pitch, a 2-2 offering, to Miami shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Rivera gamely tried to whistle the ball to Cooper, but the ball was slightly too difficult to dig out for the former Yankee prospect, and was ruled an infield hit (see tweet below). Braxton Lee then corralled an 0-2 fly to short right field for the second out off of Adrian Gonzalez' bat, then power hitter Todd Frazier, who hit .213 last season, laced a long double behind Dietrich in left, scoring Cespedes from first. Kevin Kaczmarski drove in Frazier from second when he slapped a blooper to short left field, and Travis d'Arnaud took first when Cloyd lost the handle on his fastball and nicked Travis on the elbow. Matt den Dekker, who started last year in Marlins' camp, struck out on a low-in-the-zone 2-2 slider to end New York's fun. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Top 2

Brian Anderson, making his fifth plate appearance of the spring, failed to reach first base for the first time, striking out looking at a 1-2 fastball which he thought was out of the zone. Garrett Cooper drove a pitch inside-out down the right field line for Miami's first baserunner of the contest, setting the stage for Monte Harrison. Harrison chopped it out to short, where Cooper was forced out in a 6-4 putout. Braxton Lee sliced it deep down the left field line, where Ty Kelly made a nice running grab to strand Harrison at first. Mets 2, Marlins 0

Bottom 2

Amed Rosario slapped a single between the shortstop and third base to start out the second against Cloyd, then Kelly followed up his nice catch with a swinging strikeout. Cabrera collected a one out double down the right-field line to move Rosario to third base, and Cespedes followed with a monster blast down the left field line (see below) to clear the bags and give the Mets a 5-0 lead. Gonzalez continued the assault on Cloyd, collecting New York's seventh hit with a single which ended the starter's night. Miguel Del Pozo greeted Frazier by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to get Cloyd out of further hot water. Still, Cloyd would leave the game with a 33.75 ERA. Mets 5, Marlins 0

Top 3

Jeurys Familia started the third for the Mets, and got Austin Nola and Rivera to each ground out 6-3 to start things. Dietrich worked the count full with two outs, and ended the plate appearance by drawing an eight pitch walk. Familia bounced his next pitch off of Brinson's elbow guard to set the table for Castro with two on and two out, but Castro ended the inning by bouncing out weakly to short. Mets 5, Marlins 0

Bottom 3

Justin Nicolino started the third for the Marlins, and started things out by getting Kaczmarski to bounce out to Anderson, 5-3. d'Arnaud drilled a 2-0 offering to mid-left-center, where Brinson easily collected it, and den Dekker popped one into short left where Dietrich made quick work of it. The Mets were still leading by a 5-0 margin. Mets 5, Marlins 0

Top 4

Jerry Blevins started the fourth inning on New York's mound against Anderson, where he issued the third baseman a five-pitch free pass. Cooper followed with a nubber to second for a harmless 4-3 sacrifice, moving Anderson to second base. Harrison got Miami on the board by doubling a full count curveball to left, scoring Anderson and setting the table for Lee (see below). Braxton hit the sixth pitch of the at bat to shallow left field, where he was retired easily by Kelly. Nola ended the inning by grounding out sharply to second base. Mets 5, Marlins 1

Bottom 4

Nicolino faced Rosario to open the fourth, and jammed the shortstop to short right field on a 1-2 pitch for out number one. Kelly worked the count full and drew a six-pitch walk, and Cabrera drilled a one-hop base hit to center field to move Kelly to second with Cespedes due at the plate. Cespedes rapped a difficult comebacker at Nicolino, who bobbled the ball but recovered enough to record a 1-3 putout. Gonzalez had two runners in scoring position with two out, but scorched it directly to Cooper at first, who retired him unassisted to end the inning. Mets 5, Marlins 1

Top 5

Rivera grounded out against new Mets pitcher Paul Sewald, 6-4, then Dietrich followed with a solo shot that just cleared the fence in right field. Brinson continued the party by slicing a grounder into left field, then Castro drove a 1-1 pitch into deep center, where den Dekker made a nice running grab for the second out. Anderson, still looking for his first hit of the spring, flew out to right fielder Kaczmarski to end the inning. Mets 5, Marlins 2

Bottom 5

Miami made a wholesale defensive changes to open the bottom of the fifth, replacing all nine starters in the field. Zac Gallen took over from Nicolino on the hill, Cristhian Adames replaced Rivera at shortstop, Bryan Holaday stepped in for catcher Nola, Isaac Galloway took over in right field for Lee, Chad Wallach replaced Cooper at first, Peter Mooney stepped in for Anderson at third, JB Shuck came in for CF Brinson, Magneuris Sierra took left field from Dietrich, and Johnny Giavotella took over for Castro at second.

Gallen first faced David Thompson, New York’s new third baseman, and induced him to ground out on a 3-1 pitch to Mooney, who tossed it to Wallach at first. Kaczmarski popped out on a high fly ball to Adames at short, then Jose Lobaton, taking over behind the plate for d’Arnaud, drove a full-count solo homer well over the fence in left-center field to reestablish New York’s four-run lead. den Dekker smacked a full count single to right, and Rosario drove him in on a rope to left field for a double and a 7-2 lead. But the damage wasn’t nearly done. Ty Kelly, LJ Mazzilli, and Kevin Plawecki all followed with RBI hits, scoring a total of five runs on six consecutive two-out hits off Gallen. Wilmer Flores, in for Gonzalez, struck out looking in a six-pitch at bat to end the Miami misery. Mets 10, Marlins 2

Top 6

AJ Ramos came in to pitch the sixth for the Mets, amongst other defensive changes. Sierra struck out on a foul tip into Lobaton's glove on a 2-2 count. Isan Diaz subbed in for DH Harrison, and struck out flatfooted on a 2-2 pitch for Ramos' second whiff. Galloway, who hit .280 with the New Orleans Baby Cakes last season, thwapped a single to short left-center field. Holaday struck out on a check swing to end Miami’s inning. Mets 10, Marlins 2

Bottom 6

Zac Gallen started out the sixth despite his fifth-inning troubles, and walked leadoff hitter David Thompson. Ben Meyer, wearing number 86, came in to strikeout Jay Jabs, subbing in at right field for the Mets. Lobaton followed with a single to center field on the next pitch to move Thompson to second, and new center fielder Patrick Biondi worked the count to 2-2 before striking out looking. Luis Carpio, pinching in for Rosario and playing shortstop, hit a sharp comebacker at Meyer, who gloved it on one hop and fired to Flores for the out. Mets 10, Marlins 2

Top 7

Anthony Swarzak, New York’s new 32-year-old right hander from the Chicago White Sox, came in to pitch the seventh against Adames and struck out the shortstop on four pitches. Wallach, in his first plate appearance of the spring, smashed a pitch over the Straticon sign in left-center field to get the Marlins within seven runs, at 10-3. Shuck, who is two-for-three for the season, worked the count full before drawing a walk for 2B Giavotella. The second baseman got jammed up and pushed the ball to shortstop in the air for the second out. The diminutive 3B Mooney, who clocks in at 5'6", slapped the ball hard between third and short, but Thompson made a diving stop and fired it to Flores on a bang-bang play to send the clubs into the stretch. Mets 10, Marlins 3

Bottom 7

Ian Strom, in for Kelly in left field, drilled the ball off Meyer between first and second base. Wallach got a glove on it to keep it in the infield, but couldn’t make the play. It was ruled a hit. Mazzilli then worked Meyer to a 3-1 count before hitting sharply to Mooney, who turned and fired to second to start a 5-4-3 double play. Pablo Lopez then came on in relief to attempt to collect the final out of the frame. He faced Plawecki, who drew a five-pitch walk and gave way to Flores. Flores struck out swinging at a low 2-2 fastball. Mets 10, Marlins 3

Top 8

Montero got Sierra to ground out to first base for the first out of the inning on a 2-2 fastball, then caught Diaz looking at strike three for the second. Galloway, hitting .400 in the early going, grounded it to Mets’ third baseman Thompson, who kicked the ball but kept it in front of him enough to corral it and fire to first just in time to nick Isaac. Mets 10, Marlins 3

Bottom 8

Thompson led off against Lopez, who was still in after collecting the final out of the seventh, and struck out swinging at a 1-2 slider out of the strikezone. Jabs followed with a full-count warning track shot, handled with about a foot to spare by Galloway. Tomas Nido, New York's third catcher of the day, struck out swinging at a curve ball off the outside corner. Mets 10, Marlins 3

Top 9

Rafael Montero came on to finish up the Fish, and first faced Holaday, who struck out on a check-swing. Adames came up and got fooled badly on three pitches. Wallach, Miami's last hope, struck out swinging on a high fastball. Mets 10, Marlins 3

Tomorrow, at the same time, the Marlins will take on the defending MLB Champion Houston Astros at their “home” park, Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL.