MMO Game Thread: Nationals vs. Mets, 1:10 P.M.

Sunday, February 26, 2022 • 1:10 PM
Clover Park • Port S. Lucie, Florida
RHP Trevor Williams (spring debut) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (spring debut)
SNY • WCBS 880 AM • ESPN 1050

The New York Mets play their first of six spring training games against the Washington Nationals this afternoon in Port St. Lucie.

Yesterday, the Mets had the rare split-squad day at two very different times, against two teams that were each only playing one game. The Mets dropped the first game against the Astros with Brett Baty stealing the show with two hits, including a homer and a walk in three trips to the plate. The Mets won the night cap against the Marlins with Pete Alonso‘s long home run showing he’s ready for the World Baseball Classic.

The Nationals are coming to town this afternoon with a split-squad roster and they are bringing Josiah Gray with them. Josiah Gray was one of the key prospects in the trade the Dodgers made with the Nationals a couple of seasons ago for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. The Mets will also see former Met Trevor Williams in his new threads. 

Nationals Lineup

Josiah Gray’s 2023 Spring Training debut.

Trevor Williams’s Nats debut.
 
Go 2-0 today.
 #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/Jv4AE3MtK9

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 26, 2023

Mets Lineup

Good morning.

We get to watch Max Scherzer pitch today. #LGM pic.twitter.com/S3PgX6hV4O

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 26, 2023

Three Things To Watch For:

• Max Scherzer: Adam Ottavino was the only pitcher we saw yesterday who is a lock to start the season in Queens. There’s definitely more excitement today with Max Scherzer starting the game. Over 23 games and 145 1/3 innings last year, Scherzer had a 2.29 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, 2.62 FIP and a 169 ERA+. The Mets hopes this season are pinned to Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
• Daniel Vogelbach: It’s the smallest of sample sizes, just one game, but the shift ban is going to help Vogelbach. He had two hits yesterday, both that probably would have been outs in the shift era. There was some talk during the broadcast last night that the Marlins might be hiding how they will play Vogelbach in the regular season. Let’s see what happens against the Nationals today.
• Tommy Pham: The new projected fourth outfielder for the Mets had three batted balls last night 104 MPH or higher. Last season, he was in the 93rd percentile for average exit velocity and 86th for maximum exit velocity. It didn’t materialize into strong xwOBA or xBA numbers (45th and 32nd percentiles, respectively) last season, but usually hitting the ball hard leads to good things. 

Games Notes

Per Will Sammon of the Athletic, the scheduled Mets’ pitchers for the rest of the day after Scherzer are Tommy Hunter, Elieser Hernández, John Curtiss, Brooks Raley, and Sam Coonrod.

Earlier today, per Jeff Passan of ESPN, it was announced that Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres are in agreement on an 11-year, $350 extension. 

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