R.A. Dickey was his usual awesome self today, throwing 5.1 innings while allowing 2 runs, 1 of which was earned, on 5 strikeouts and no walks.  Dickey allowed a couple baserunners in the 6th inning, and Manny Acosta was summoned from the bullpen. It was downhill from there, as Acosta allowed both inherited runners and 3 of his own to score in the inning. Acosta's walk and home run allowed were two big mistakes, but an error by Luis Hernandez helped set things up. Acosta stayed on for the 7th inning, allowing only a single in the inning. Tim Byrdak continued his spring excellence with another scoreless inning in the 8th.

The Mets' bats were relatively quiet, scoring only 1 run through the first 5 innings on a first-inning sacrifice fly by Ike Davis. They got a pair of runs in the 8th inning on a home run by Matt Bouchard. Other than that, Daniel Murphy's 2-for-3 day at the plate was the only noteworthy performance.

Since Justin Turner was sent to minor-league camp this morning, the competition for the job seems more or less settled. Whether it's Brad Emaus or Daniel Murphy starting on Opening Day, both players figure to get some time at the position. Having said that, I'll continue to track the two of them through spring training for fun.

The Mets host the Cardinals tomorrow at 1:10 pm, and the game will be on SNY.

Game Thread Roll Call
Nice job by fightoffyourdemons; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.