Notable items from Tuesday’s Mets’ Grapefruit League game:
Good stuff’
Jose Quintana, one of the Mets’ potential starters for Opening Day, showed off his strong pitching once again, allowing just two hits in four scoreless innings.
He lowered his ERA to 2.08 in spring training and said, “Everything is working really well right now.”
“I thought he was ahead in the count,” coach Carlos Mendoza said. “I thought he put the ball on the ground and got a lot of ground balls. He used all his pitches, especially the two-seam to right-handed pitchers. He had good tempo.”
There was a problem
The Mets were unable to hit for two consecutive games, allowing just two hits against the Nationals.
He was held to five hits and no runs against the Marlins on Sunday.
The four starting pitchers, Brandon Nimmo, Harrison Bader, Pete Alonso and Starling Marte, combined for one hit and two walks for 10 at bats.
It caught my eye
Nimmo, who shifted from center to left after Bader’s arrival, showed his potential in his new position in the first inning, saving Quintana from a pinch in the first and third innings.
He one-hopped Joey Gallo’s shallow single, throwing out third baseman Joey Meneses by several steps.
Wednesday schedule
Luis Severino will make his third spring start when the Mets host the Astros at 6:10 p.m. at Clover Park, with Jake Diekman, Shintaro Fujinami and Drew Smith expected to follow from the bullpen.
This will be a pivotal outing for Fujinami, a hard-throwing right-hander who is competing for one of the Mets’ last bullpen spots but has struggled in recent outings.
