Mets Spring Training Vlog Day 3, Mets vs. Astros

The Mets gave their fans a hint at their opening day lineup, while youngsters Phillip Evans, Tomas Nido and Luis Guillorme starred in a 9-5 win.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway gave fans a preview of what New York’s opening day lineup may look like in 23 days when the Mets open the season at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals.

On a hot-hazy day under the sun in Port St. Lucie, Callaway featured the following order:

Brandon Nimmo CF

Yoenis Cespedes LF

Adrian Gonzalez 1B

Jay Bruce RF

Todd Fraizer 3B

Asdrubal Cabrera 2B

Travis d’Arnaud C

Aside from shortstop Ahmed Rosario, who did not play Tuesday afternoon in the Mets 9-5 win over the Houston Astros, that order is pretty much what fans will become accustomed to in the near future.

It wasn’t a bad game for the Mets starting lineup, they produced three runs on Astros starter Collin McHugh, and displayed the kind of power that can come from the top half of the order.

In the bottom of the first inning, Brandon Nimmo started off the game with a leadoff walk, which was quickly followed by an Adrian Gonzalez double to right to move the speedy center fielder to third base. Finally Jay Bruce just missed on a McHugh fastball, launching the pitch to straight away center field for a sac fly to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, after the Astros tied the game at two, Yoenis Cespedes cracked his second homer of the spring off the batter’s eye in center field to give the Mets a 3-2 lead.

While it was a small sample size, the Mets showed the ability to manufacture runs with both power and smart situational baseball. The Mets are in a unique situation with this lineup. Many have pointed out, and rightfully so that a lineup with Gonzalez, Bruce, Fraizer and Cespedes would have been frightening three or four years ago.

With Gonzalez’s production declining in recent years as he gets older, and injuries to Cespedes the past two seasons, it is easy to be cynical when looking at the Met lineup. Yet, the potential is still there for them to do damage this season. That is the gamble Sandy Alderson is willing to make in order to get the Mets back into contention for a playoff spot this season.

Meanwhile, it was a big afternoon for some of the Mets young prospects as they powered New York to a 9-5 win over Houston. The Mets trailed 4-3 in the seventh inning when Tomas Nido, a 23-year old who was in Double-A last season, cracked a game tying home run to right to stun Houston.

An inning later, Nido’s Double-A Binghamton teammate, Luis Guillorme lined a RBI single to left that scored Kevin Kaczmarksi to tie the game again, this time at five.

Finally in the ninth inning, Houston’s Rogelio Armenteros completely imploded, allowing the Mets to load the bases before Triple-A first baseman Phillip Evans launched a grand slam over the left-center field wall to win the ball game. Evans is having a really nice camp for the Mets this spring, batting .308 with five RBI and a .923 slugging percentage. Nido is hitting an even .300, while Guillorme is getting an extensive amount of playing time from Mickey Callaway, hitting .375 in eight games.