Brett Baty homers, Clay Holmes strikes out eight as Mets beat Cardinals

The Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, on Friday afternoon at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie as spring training nears the end.

Here are the takeaways…

– Clay Holmes made his final spring start before taking the mound on Opening Day against the Houston Astros, and continued to look good. The right-hander struck out two Cardinals in the first inning thanks to his nasty kick-changeup. He added his third and fourth strikeouts in the second and third innings while keeping it a scoreless game.

Holmes kept it going in the fourth inning thanks to a double play and another strikeout, and then struck out two more to get through the fifth inning. Holmes stayed in the game in the sixth inning, striking out Jordan Walker for his last batter of the day.

Holmes’ final line: two hits allowed, eight strikeouts, and three walks over 88 pitches in 5.1 innings pitched. Overall, Holmes ended his first spring training as a starter with a 0.93 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and just eight walks over 19.1 innings.

– Getting the start at shortstop and fighting for a roster spot amid Jeff McNeil‘s oblique injury, Luisangel Acuña made a nice sliding stop behind second base and throw to first to get Alec Burleson for the final out of the third inning. Acuña didn’t have the same success at the plate, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

– Brett Batymade a leaping catch at third base on José Fermín‘s liner and quick throw to 1B Mark Vientos to double up Pedro Pagés in the top of the fourth inning. Baty kept the momentum going by registering New York’s first hit of the day — a double to the wall in center field in the bottom half of the fourth, giving him three straight games with a double. The 25-year-old then crushed a two-run homer, his third of the spring, in the bottom of the sixth to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.

– Alexander Canario got the Mets a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth inning by walking and then stealing second base. He came around to score on Pete Alonso‘s double to left field, making it 1-0 Mets.

– RHP Huascar Brazobán came in for relief in the top of the sixth inning and tossed 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and three walks. Dedniel Núñez replaced Brazobán on the mound in the top of the eighth and got into some trouble. The righty gave up a two-run home run to Leonardo Bernal, as the Cardinals trailed, 3-2. Núñezstayed in the game to get a ground out and strikeout, ending the frame.

Who was the game MVP?

As good as Holmes was on the mound, Friday’s game MVP goes to Baty, who continues to show why he deserves a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets play their third-to-last spring training game on Saturday against the Washington Nationals at 1:10 p.m. on SNY.

Tylor Megill is scheduled to take the mound at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.

Read the full article here