Marlins 3, Mets 1: Loewen's Drop In Jupiter Proves Costly

Costly is a sizable overstatement, as wins and losses in spring training are irrelevant. But Adam Loewen's drop of a flyball with two outs in the seventh inning today allowed two runs to score, breaking a 1-1 tie at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. Loewen's bat has been impressive this spring; his glove, less so.

R.A. Dickey's performance was the highlight of the day. He pitched two perfect innings, striking out one and inducing Jose Reyes to weakly ground out back to the mound to start the game. A rain delay forced Dickey to exit earlier than planned. Manny Acosta followed with two scoreless innings, striking out three. Bobby Parnell notched two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of work but Fernando Cabrera allowed five hits and three runs in his two innings. Barring a rash of injuries somehow more severe than the current one, Cabrera will not be on the Opening Day roster.

The Mets scored their only run on an Ike Davis RBI double off Josh Johnson in the first inning. Jason Bay had a nice go at the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with an opposite field double, also off Johnson.

Terry Collins pulled an Ozzie Guillen and was ejected from the game. A spring training game. The disagreement was over a batter's interference call against Jordany Valdespin in the eighth inning. Is Terry headed for one of his trademark meltdowns this season?

Click here for today's boxscore. The Mets head back to Port St. Lucie tomorrow to play the Tigers at 1:10pm. The game will be televised on SNY.

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the game thread embiggens us all.