Mets Double Up the Nats, 6-3
A third-inning grand slam would prove to be enough as the Mets doubled up the Nats, 6-3 for their second loss in three ST games.
Josiah Gray was in midseason form with two scoreless innings, two hits allowed, and five K’s without issuing a walk. Robert Garci, the August waiver-wire claim from the Marlins, lived up that label, giving up the aforementioned grand slam with two outs after loading the bases on single, walk, and catcher’s interference.
The 27-y.o. southpaw would take the loss and finished with four runs allowed (three earned) on three hits and two walks over one (1) inning.
Brady House and Jacob Young were both in the starting lineup, at third base and left field respectively.
House would break up the shutout with a two-out, two-run single and finish the afternoon at 1-for-3. Young also had a single in three trips to the plate.
Three watchlist players and two notable minor-leaguers appeared as replacements (subs, not the band) while two watchlist pitchers appeared in relief:
- James Wood drove in the third run with an RBI single in the 7th and drew a walk as the Nats’ second CF.
- Brady Lindsly pinch-ran for Ruiz and singled in his lone at-bat. He also committed a throwing error.
- Robert Hassell drew a walk while pinch-hitting for Jesse Winker. He swiped second for his second steal of the spring.
- Trey Lipscomb subbed for Luis García Jr. at second base went 1-for-2 with a run scored.
- Jake Alu replacemd Young in LF and grounded out in the 9th.
- Mitchell Parker did not issue a walk or allow a hit in the 7th and 8th innings while fanning three.
- Andrew Alvarez gave up an unearned run in the 9th on a one-out single, and a wild-pitch-error sequence. He also walked one.
The Nats remain in West Palm Beach this afteroon, “visiting” the Astros. Zach Davies is expected to make the start. The game can be seen on MLB.tv and the MLB Network or heard on MLB Radio (Houston feed).
Something worth keeping an eye on is Keibert Ruiz’s defense. He’s apparently working on a different approach, as he and the club have rightly identified his defense as being problematic. One of the things he’s trying out is to move closer to the plate: https://twitter.com/andrewcgolden/status/1760310080031879541
Well, so far, it’s a work in progress, as Ruiz committed his 3rd error due to catcher interference in 10 innings so far…
The Nats bet big on Ruiz, so he’s not going anywhere. But it might be worth giving him more playing time at 1B if these defensive tweaks don’t yield any progress, particularly given the lack of any quality at 1B both at the major league or minor league level, and the relative surplus of catching depth we have in the majors/upper minors. I’ll be keeping an eye on Millas and Pineda in ST.
Lucas Knowles going to be swing guy loogie for wherever he pitches ?
And Cole Henry with three K’s! Fingers crossed . . . (and he definitely should keep the Gretzky #99).
Nice outing from Parker, with three K’s and no walks in two clean innings. He may have been facing scrubs, but good work is good work.
these two outings jumped out of the box score for me. Henry is the real deal if healthy, whether that ends up being relieving due to workload concerns or starting. the quote from DM on Parker working high in the zone seems to indicate a concern. then again I’ve never put a lot of stock in DM’s postgamers.
the big three outfield prospects starting today against Urquidy and the roommates! Lipscomb and Alu get looks as well. DM seems to be embracing the energy from the youngsters.
It appears that Robert Hassell III is over his wrist issues. Nats still have a lot of holes, but the Nats’ prospect OF depth is exciting.
Ruiz is not only closer to the plate (with three catcher’s interference in ST already), he’s also down on one knee. I’m not crazy about that, but it’s the way MLB is going so I suppose they have the metrics to back it up. It’s supposed to help frame pitches, as is having Ruiz move up in the catcher’s box. I’m not that worried about it YET. ST is for working on stuff like this. If he’s still struggling with it when they break camp, that’s a problem.
Ruiz would have to hit a LOT better to move to a 1b role. His 93(ish) w/RC+ & OPS+ will absolutely play at catcher. At 1b not so much.