Pete Alonso drives in run, Max Kranick allows first runs of spring in Mets' loss to Nationals
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was not a great night for Mets pitchers with pristine spring ERAs Saturday night, as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.
The Mets fell to 8-11-3 this spring, while Washington upped its record to 11-9-1.
Here are the main takeaways:
- Clay Holmes, the converted reliever who will start the Mets' season opener in 12 days, came into his start having thrown 9.2 scoreless innings this spring. But he gave up his first run of camp with two outs in the fourth inning when Paul DeJong hit an RBI double. Holmes gave up two hits in the frame; he had given up two hits all spring before that.
Holmes left the game after giving up a one-out single in the fifth inning. Reliever Max Kranick surrendered a triple to Daylen Lile, the first batter he faced, meaning Holmes was charged with a second run. Holmes allowed three hits and two runs in 4.1 innings, striking out two and walking one.
The right-hander now has a 1.29 ERA this spring and opposing batters are 5-for-49 against him, a paltry .106 average. Holmes, who threw 77 pitches, will get six “ups” in his last tune-up before the opener, Carlos Mendoza said.
- Kranick had come into the game with a spotless ledger, too, having not allowed a run over eight innings -- but the Nats got him, too. Kranick allowed two runs and three hits over 1.1 innings of work, including a two-run double to José Tena in the sixth that ended Kranick’s evening and pushed Washington’s lead to 4-1. His ERA went from 0.00 to 1.93 during his outing.
- The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a fielder’s choice grounder by Pete Alonso with the bases loaded. Alonso hit a hard shot to third that DeJong snagged. DeJong ran and touched third and tried to nab Alonso at first for what would’ve been an inning-ending double play, but Alonso beat the relay and got a spring RBI for his hustle.
- Luisangel Acuña, vying for playing time as a utility man or perhaps as the second baseman in Jeff McNeil’s absence, made a snazzy play at second in the first inning, diving to his left for a grounder and throwing out Nathaniel Lowe at first. The crowd gasped. Acuña later stole his third base of the spring.
- It remains to be seen how many at-bats Jesse Winker, a left-handed hitter, will get against lefties during the regular season. But on Saturday night he offered a tantalizing case for at least a few. In the second inning, he led off with a loud double to left field against southpaw starter Mitchell Parker.
One inning later, he drew a walk against Parker. Last season, Winker had 104 plate appearances against lefties, batting .236 with a .674 OPS. In 404 plate appearances against righties, Winker hit .258 with a .788 OPS.
-Former Nationals star Juan Soto got a nice hand from Nats (and Mets) fans before his first at-bat. There was a noisy contingent of Met rooters at the game.
-Mets lefty reliever A.J. Minter threw a scoreless seventh inning in his second outing of the spring. He picked a runner off at first base, according to the box score.
Game MVP
Not the Mets’ clutch hitting department. The club went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Highlights
Pete Alonso with an RBI to bring Donovan Walton in for the first run of the game pic.twitter.com/S7aAWARLzP
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 15, 2025
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