The Mets topped the Tigers 4-2 at First Data Field on Monday. I was there for the festivities. Here is the recap below!
Port St. Lucie, FL – Matt Harvey was his typically
sharp-self on Monday afternoon as he whirled three shutout innings against the
Detroit Tigers in the Mets 4-2 victory from First Data Field.
Harvey gave up only two hits and a walk on 42 pitches. He
worked in and out of trouble all day, allowing his teammates to their jobs
behind him. Call it a different approach for Harvey.
When he was at the peak of his powers back in 2015, Harvey
was blowing hitters away with 98 mph heat. Those days were long ago now, as
Harvey is trying to bounce back from an injury riddled 2017. Now Harvey is
trying to craft himself a little differently. He can still light up a radar gun
when he needs to, but the veteran pitcher is just focused on getting outs. If
that approach works for him moving forward, the Mets will have their Big Three
(Syndergaard, deGrom and Harvey) if all are healthy.
In the top of the first, he made quick work Detroit center
fielder Leonys Martin, jamming him on a liner to Luis Guillorme at short stop
for the first out. He got Jose Iglesias to hit a soft grounder to Jose Reyes at
third for the second out on a 2-2 pitch, and, after walking Miguel Cabrera,
made a terrific play off the mound on a ground ball by Victor Martinez to get
out of the inning.
Overall, Harvey threw only 18 pitches in the frame.
The second inning was a little rough for Matt. He fell
behind three straight hitters in 3-1 counts, by managed to work around a
one-out double by Derek Norris by getting Kodey Eaves to fly out to right, and
fooling Jason Kazian on a change-up at the knees for strike three to get out of
the jam.
The third inning was much easier for Harvey as he endued
three ground ball outs on 11 pitches to complete his day at the office.
Meanwhile, Monday’s game was a big showing for Brandon
Nimmo. Nimmo continues to look real comfortable in the lead-off spot for the
Mets, going 1-fo-3 with a home run, two runs scored and a walk. It took only
three pitches from Tigers starter Mike Fiers for Nimmo to launch a pitch over the
center field wall to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The 24-year old Wyoming native is having a great spring for
Mickey Callaway, batting .389 with two home runs and five RBI, and an OPS of
1.343. Of all the Mets hitters who have
had at least 20 plate appearances in camp, he has been the team’s hottest
hitter.
If Nimmo keeps this up, it is a very good bet that Nimmo
will be the Mets starting center fielder and leadoff batter on Opening Day.
With Michael Conforto still making his way back last season’s shoulder injury,
the Mets have been looking for someone to fill the void.
While Nimmo does not possess the power that Conforto has, he
is going to give Callaway the flexibility and speed that he needs at the top of
the lineup.
When camp opened up three weeks ago, Callaway was willing to
leave the completion for the leadoff spot open. The Mets have a number of
candidates: Asdrubal Cabrera, Jose Reyes, and Juan Lagares, to name a few. Unfortunately Cabrera is old. Reyes is older,
and expected to be a bench guy. Lagares has never been great in the leadoff
spot in the past, and some believe that Ahmed Rosario is not ready for that
spot at this point.
That leaves Nimmo.
One thing that Nimmo has going for him that the others do
not have, he’s young, fast and proving he can handle the spot in spring games.
With three more weeks of games left, the key for Nimmo will be consistency. If
Monday’s effort is any indication, the Mets may have a very valuable
weapon.
Comments