PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Result: Mets 3, Cardinals 2
It wasn’t a perfect outing, and he ended up as the losing pitcher, but there were multiple reasons to be encouraged about Alex Reyes and his performance for the Cardinals on Friday against the Mets.
After struggling with his command in his first appearance of the spring, Reyes showed much better control in his second outing – except for one pitch, which ended up being a game-winning home run for the Mets in the eighth inning of the game in Port St. Lucie.
Before that, Reyes got a ground out and a swinging strike for a strikeout. He also had another strikeout to end his scheduled one-inning appearance.
Here is how Friday’s game broke down:
High: Daniel Ponce de Leon, fighting for a spot on the pitching staff as either a starter or reliever, turned in three scoreless innings, allowing two hits, not walking anybody and striking out four.
Low: In his first game of the spring, Andrew Miller struggled with his control as he issued a walk, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch.
At the plate: Paul Goldschmidt hit his first home run off the spring, off Mets’ starter Marcus Stroman … The other run for the Cardinals came on a pinch-hit home run by Austin Dean in the eighth … The Cardinals had only four other hits, two by Harrison Bader, who raised his spring average to .357 … The Cardinals were hitless in seven at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Adam Wainwright allowed one run in three innings in his second spring start, both coming in Port St. Lucie. If the current pitching rotation stands, each of Wainwright’s first four starts of the spring could come on the road against the Mets.
Up next: Carlos Martinez will make his first spring start and second appearance on Saturday when the Cardinals host the Washington Nationals in Jupiter.
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