Here are a few of my takeaways from the Mets 8-4 loss to the Rays in Port Charlotte on Sunday…
Jack Leathersich has been pretty good lately.
There’s essentially an open audition for one or two left-handed relief roles right now. While still likely a long shot, Leathersich could be pitching himself back into the discussion.
He hasn’t allowed a walk in his last three outings, and in turn hasn’t allowed a run over the same span. He isn’t a natural lefty specialist when looking at his stats, but it’s also fair to argue a complete evaluation can’t be made until he starts to throw strikes consistently. While there’s still a long way to go, today’s outing could have helped his cause and progress their evaluation of the hopeful lefty.
By the way, Leathersich is on the 40-man roster, so that should prolong their examination of him this spring…
Wilmer Flores isn’t letting up.
Perhaps Terry Collins declaring a competition at shortstop last month has been healthy for Flores, even though there’s really no competition. He’s just red hot right now as he continues to rack up hits and hit the ball with authority all over the field. Flores now has five extra-base hits and is hitting .462 in eight games this spring.
Kirk Nieuwenhuis also isn’t letting up.
We’ve all come to know Kirk is an extremely streaky hitter, and since Spring Training started, he’s been on one of those tears. Perhaps the biggest thing for Kirk is he’s been hitting left-handed pitching, today being no exception to that, as he’s now 3-for-7 against southpaws this spring. The hope is when he cools off, he doesn’t go ice cold and become an automatic out.
Walks remain contagious.
The Mets issued five more walks this afternoon. They’ve now issued 57 walks in 13 games this spring, and that’s just not acceptable. It’s worth watching to see if these numbers decrease as the starters begin to stretch out and the relievers begin to pitch in their regular roles.
Other notes from Sunday:
Bartolo Colon was roughed up for five runs in two innings on Sunday. It was the second consecutive start Colon has struggled, and he’s now allowed eight runs in seven innings over three starts this spring.
Lucas Duda whiffed three times in an 0-for-4 showing at the plate. It was Duda’s second game since returning from an intercostal strain.
With two more hits today, Daniel Muno is now 9-for-19 in 11 games this spring.
Just Mets 