The Mets held their first intrasquad simulated game on Wednesday. Max Scherzer made his Mets pitching debut but it was Dominic Smith who stole the show.
New York took to the main field of Port St. Lucie and nearly every predicted starter played at some point. New additions like Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar, and Scherzer played their first game in blue and orange. Starling Marte did not take an at-bat. There’s no official winner to the game and stats weren’t recorded but there are positives from the brief scrimmage.
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Scherzer took the ball first. He faced Canha as his first batter, who singled. Then Scherzer would respond with a strikeout of Escobar, a Luis Guillorme foul popup, and a Matt Reynolds ground out to end the inning.
Scherzer ended up throwing four innings, reaching a pitch count of 61. Forty-two pitches were strikes and seven were swings and misses.
David Peterson started the bottom half of the inning. Peterson was making his first appearance on a mound since last summer when he hit the injured list with an oblique injury. He would be shut down for the season after a freak injury to his foot.
Peterson, the Mets’ lone lefty starter on a major league contract, went two innings, walked one batter, and struck out two. He faced a tough lineup of Pete Alonso, Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, James McCann, and Jeff McNeil. His lone miscue was hitting Cano with a pitch but since it’s a sim game, Cano was forced to remain in the box.
Scherzer’s new worst enemy came to the plate in the second and third innings. Smith turned on two up-and-in fastballs that each cleared the fence in right.
Dom Smith with two bombs off Max Scherzer.
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“He’s never hit those pitches against me,” Scherzer said. “I was like ‘how’d you figure out how to hit those?'”
In his regular-season career, Smith is 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts against Scherzer.
Manager Buck Showalter said in his press conference on Tuesday that Smith got “un-Dom like” last season and guaranteed a turnaround in his performance this season.
Smith returning to near his 2020 form would be huge for the Mets. Even his 2019 season when he bat .282 with less power would be an improvement. In 145 games last season, Smith hit 11 home runs and slashed .244/.304/.363.
Tylor Megill and Jordan Yamamoto pitched for the Mets as well. They faced less daunting lineups but some prospects like Ronny Mauricio were involved.
Megill went three innings, allowed one hit, and struck out one batter (Alonso). Yamamoto threw two innings, allowed one hit, and struck out four batters.
Megill is fighting for a rotation spot after a promising rookie year. He could be in line to start if Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker aren’t immediately available once the season begins.
Yamamoto was up and down levels for the Mets throughout May until he hit the injured list with shoulder soreness. He’d transfer to the 60-day IL and finish the season rehabbing at Low-A and Triple-A. He’s only 25 and will more than likely begin the season in Syracuse again.
The final score ended 3-0 with Scherzer taking the loss. The real games start this weekend. On Saturday the Mets will travel to West Palm Beach to play the Nationals at 6:05 p.m. They’ll host their first game on Sunday against the Cardinals.
The post Dominic Smith Homers Twice Off Max Scherzer In Sim Game first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
