Spring Training Game Chat: Mets vs Nationals, 1:05 P.M.

Monday, February 26, 2024 • 1:10 PM
CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches • West Palm Beach, FL
RHP Max Kranick (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Josiah Gray (0-0, -.–)

The Mets look to make it two wins in a row this afternoon as they take on the Nationals for the Mets’ first road game of the season. The big story from yesterday’s game was Francisco Álvarez hitting his first home run of the spring. So far it’s been the Mets catchers this spring showing off the power with the other Mets homer coming from Hayden Senger in the first game of the season.

José Butto had a solid outing, scattering three hits over two innings. On Saturday Tylor Megill had a rough first inning, but a much calmer second inning and allowed only one run over two innings. Buttó and Megill are both competing with Joey Lucchesi for the Mets’ final spot in the rotation. There is one additional pitcher competing for that spot – today’s starter Max Kranick. The Mets claimed Kranick from the Pirates in mid-January. Max Kranick had Tommy John surgery in 2022, which caused him to miss most of that season and almost all of 2023.

Mets Lineup

1. DJ Stewart, DH
2. Francisco Lindor, SS
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Brett Baty, 3B
5. Trayce Thompson, LF
6. Drew Gilbert, CF
7. Luisangel Acuña, 2B
8. Tomás Nido, C
9. Taylor Kohlwey, RF

Opposing Lineup

1. CJ Abrams, SS
2. Lane Thomas, RF
3. Joey Gallo, 1B
4. Keibert Ruiz, C
5. Jesse Winker, DH
6. Brady House, 3B
7. Luis García Jr., 2B
8. Victor Robles, CF
9. Jacob Young, LF

Game Notes

Additional pitchers for the blue and orange today are: RHP Cam Robinson, RHP Eric Orze and RHP Sean Reid-Foley. The Mets announced that Adrian Houser will pitch on Tuesday against A.J. Puk and the Marlins, marking his first start in a Mets uniform.

In addition, the Mets added the following minor leaguers on their travel roster for today: INF Wyatt Young, INF Mateo Gil, INF Luke Ritter, OF Stanley Consuegra, OF Omar De Los Santos, OF Brandon McIlwain, OF Joe Suozzi, RHP Trey McLoughlin, RHP Dedniel Núñez, RHP Ben Simon, RHP Tyler Stuart and RHP Joander Suarez.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Max Kranick: Kranick made nine starts in 2021 for the Pirates, pitching a total of 38 2/3 innings with a 6.28 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 1.707 WHIP and a 68 ERA+. He made nine starts across the minor leagues last year with a 4.35 ERA over 20 2/3 innings rehabbing from Tommy John. Before his surgery in 2021, he used four different pitches in major league games. He has a mid-90s fastball (thrown 48% of the time), a high-80s slider (32%), a low-80s curve (12%) and a high-80s change (7%).
2. Sean Reid-Foley: Sean is fully competing for one of the last bullpen spots on the roster this spring. Like Kranick, Sean missed a large chunk of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery. In the majors last season, he allowed only three runs from four hits and six walks over 7 2/3 innings while striking out 16 batters. In the minors, he pitched 22 innings with a 4.09 ERA.
3. Top prospects get the start! The Mets are starting Drew Gilbert and Luisangel Acuña this afternoon. Gilbert and Acuña have already seen some playing time early this spring, but neither have started. As of right now, neither player is expected to start the season with the Mets, but there is a chance for one of both players to come up at some point this season. Hopefully, they get to see major league pitching today!

Let’s go Mets!

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