The Mets lose 3-1 to the Marlins in a sloppy, sloppy exhibition game

The New York Mets lost 3-1 to the Marlins on the road in Jupiter, Florida yesterday. It was a sloppy game on both sides of the ball, with the team having committed almost as many errors as they had hits.

Jason Vargas started for the Mets, and generally struggled to keep runners off base. His issues began almost immediately, when Brian Anderson, the second hitter of the game, hit a ground-rule double into the left-field corner. Vargas followed the double by walking former-Met Neil Walker, but then was able to escape the jam by striking out Peter O’Brien and getting Starlin Castro to pop-out. He ran into trouble again in the second inning, when he allowed back to back singles to Jorge Alfaro and Lewis Brinson to open the frame. Vargas miraculously was able to worm his way out of trouble again in the second, with Keon Broxton doubling up Alfaro off second on a Rosell Herrera line drive to center field. While he managed to avoid giving up any runs, Vargas’ final line for the day includes five total baserunners in 2.1 innings of work, with only two strikeouts.

The Mets’ lineup similarly struggled, posting just one run on six hits, despite drawing six total walks against the Marlin’s inexperienced pitching staff. The lone Met run came in the sixth inning on a J.D. Davis RBI single to centerfield, which allowed Danny Espinosa to score from third. Ultimately, it was the Met’s defensive miscues that lost them the game today, as they committed five total errors and three unearned runs. The defense was especially bad in the later innings, beginning in the seventh inning when Luis Guillorme botched a play on a Lewis Brinson ground ball to shortstop. That was immediately followed up by a throwing error from third baseman Cody Bohanek, which allowed Magneuris Sierra, who entered the game to run for Brinson, to advance to third. Sierra would score later in the inning on a Dixon Machado double to left field. The fielding issues continued for the Mets into the eighth inning, when a Braxton Lee error in right field allowed Harold Ramirez to score and Santiago Chavez to take an extra base on a single. Chavez would then advance to third on a throwing error from Luis Guillorme, and would end up scoring later in the inning on a bases loaded walk from Drew Smith.

It was a sloppy game for the Mets all around, who managed to lose the game without allowing any earned runs. Games like this serve as a good reminder as to why teams play a full month of exhibition games to shake off the off-season rust before the season begins.

Some more notes from the game:

• Brandon Nimmo played for the second straight day following the stomach virus that kept him out of action on Sunday. He went 0-for-4 with a strike out in today’s game.
• Danny Espinosa went 0-for-1, but walked twice and scored the Mets lone run on a J.D. Davis single in the sixth inning.
• J.D. Davis continued to play well, going 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the sixth. He’s now hitting .308/.333/.500 in 26 at bats this spring.
• Adeiny Hechavarria notched his second hit of the spring today in the top of the fifth. It’s been a slow start offensively for Hechavarria, who has accrued just 16 at bats since he was brought into camp on an NRI.
• Luis Avilan was dominant against the Marlins today, allowing just a single hit and striking out four in 1.2 innings of work.
• Edwin Diaz made his second appearance of the spring, and threw a scoreless bottom of the fifth inning. He allowed a single hit, and struck out two of the four batters he faced.
• Devin Mesoraco had a rough day all around, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and committing a throwing error in the bottom of the fourth inning. He’s now hitting .167/.167/.416 in 12 at bats this spring.

Full box score: MLB.com