Mets and Yankees win pre-season openers

METS 6
BRAVES 2

The Mets opened up the Mickey Callaway era in the win column by rallying late to beat back their NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves 6-2 at First Data Field in Port St. Lucie.

While most of the Mets regulars were long gone by the late stages, the Mets were led by a 2-run double by Zach Borenstein that tied the game at two in the eighth inning, and a RBI single by David Thompson that bounced off the glove of left fielder Isreal Wilson that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. New York would score three more runs in the frame on walks to Patrick Mazeika, Gavin Cecchini and Luis Gillorme. Cecchini and Wilmer Flores were the only major league talent to bat in the inning for the Mets.

Early on all eyes were on pitcher Zach Wheeler who got the nod for the exhibition opener. Much had been made about the security of Wheeler's spot in the rotation in light of the recent signing of veteran Jason Vargas. While he only pitched one inning, Wheeler looked good. He surrendered a lead-off single Ozzie Albies, before striking out two of the next three hitters.

As for the regulars, Adrian Gonzalez made his Mets debut going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Todd Fraizer was 1-for-2 in his debut. Amed Rosario was 1-for-2 on the afternoon, while Travis d'Arnaud was 0-for-2 at the plate.

The Mets (1-0) host the Cardinals on Saturday.

YANKEES 3
TIGERS 1

As for the Bronx Bombers, they got a chance to take the ribbon off their biggest off-season prize, Giancarlo Stanton on Friday against Detroit. Stanton got the start in right field and batted second in the order, going 0-for-1 with a walk. Aaron Judge did not play against the Tigers on Friday.

Aaron Boone's ball club rallied to score three runs in the sixth, including a two-run single by Jorge Saez.

Luis Cesa got the start on the mound for the Yankees, giving up a run on two hits over two innings of work.

The Yankees visit the Pirates on Saturday.