The Mets had some strong individual matches on the mound, but the unstable defense at third base helped Nacional come out with a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.
Here are some important tips from Saturday’s game …
– Mets took the lead thanks to a less than stellar national defense. After Michael Comfort was hit by a pitch with two exits and no one inside, JD Davis chosen, but an error of Juan Soto moved the corridors to the second and third. James McCann then hit a grounder for third base Carter Kieboom, who threw the ball away, allowing both runs to score.
– Jordan Yamamoto started on the hill for Mets, bet on a 2-0 advantage. At first, he got it right Trea Turner swinging, but it also allowed a double RBI to Josh Bell, cutting off the leadership of the Mets.
The 24-year-old settled down well, posting 1-2-3 consecutive entries on the second and third. Yamamoto will likely start the season at Triple-A level, but he can prove to be a valuable piece of depth for the Mets’ rotation if someone suffers an injury. He ended his night with 3.1 innings thrown, allowing for a well-deserved run in two strokes while eliminating two. Your spring ERA is now 1.08.
– Edwin Diaz came to launch the fifth entry, and it was again a very clean exit for the 26-year-old. Diaz eliminated Alex Avila and Kieboom swinging as part of a 1-2-3 work shift. He did not allow a base runner this spring.
– Francisco lindor had another quiet night on the board going 0 to 3 with a couple of eliminations. It is never advisable to put too much stock in spring training performances, but Lindor is now reducing just 0.125 / 0.176 / 0.125 this spring.
– Kevin Pillar reached the base on a hike in the second round and then stole the second and third bases before being arrested. Probably a fourth or fifth outfielder on the Mets’ 26-player list, Pillar had a good spring, cutting .353 / .450 / .588.
– The defense in third base remains a sore point for the Mets this spring. With Davis already having some problems, it was Jonathan Villar starting on the third on Saturday. At the end of the sixth, Nacional pushed the tie thanks to a mistake by two outside Villar. The unsuccessful race was charged Jeurys Familia, who walked a hitter and hit a hitter at the entrance.
Villar made two mistakes in the game, and Mark Vientos committed another at the end of the ninth entry, all in the warm corner. Vientos’ mistake kept the Nats’s ninth entry rally going, and Yasmany Tomas drove in the winning race on a single RBI out of Ryley Gilliam.
What is the next
The Mets are back in action on Sunday afternoon at 1:10 pm, when they host the St. Louis Cardinals.