MMO Game Thread: Nicaragua vs Mets, 6:10 P.M.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 • 6:10 PM
Clover Park • Port St. Lucie, Florida
RHP JC Ramíez (0-0, -.–) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (0-0, -.–)
SNY
The Mets play another evening game on Wednesday – this time against Team Nicaragua of the WBC!
The World Baseball Classic started Tuesday night in Taiwan, and the stateside pools are gearing up for official play this weekend. In order to get ready for the tournament, several World Baseball Classic teams are playing in exhibition games today and tomorrow, and the Mets are playing hosts Wednesday and Thursday.
Tonight, the Mets will play against Nicaragua at 6:10 p.m. EST. Mark Vientos was originally going to play for the Nicaraguan team before bowing out of the tournament in early February. Nicaragua will be looking to avoid a last-place finish in a tough group in the World Baseball Classic.
Nicaragua shares a group with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Israel. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela are three of the better squads in the tournament. Israel made a surprising run in the last tournament. The last-place team in the group will have to go back into the qualifying tournament, which is how Nicaragua earned their spot in this year’s tournament, defeating Brazil in a WBC qualifier.
Mets Lineup
Tonight’s lineup as the Mets host the Nicaragua WBC team in Port St. Lucie. pic.twitter.com/MWokkRRYrs
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 8, 2023
Nicaragua Lineup
Así saldrá nuestra selección al terreno de juego en el partido de preparación Nicaragua Vs. @Mets
Trasmisión en vivo por @VivaNicaragua13 @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/t0QarP1Rge
— Selección de Nicaragua (@selebeisbolnic) March 8, 2023
Game Notes
In addition to Max Scherzer, the Mets also plan on pitching Jeff Brigham, Sam Coonrod, T.J. McFarland, Eric Orze, Josh Walker, and Jimmy Yacabonis in tonight’s contest.
Danny Mendick will be making his Mets debut on Wednesday after being signed as a free agent this offseason. Mendick, who hit .287 in 97 ABs for the White Sox last season, provides the Mets with major-league ready middle-infield depth. The Mets will also get another valuable chance to assess the offense and defense of their top prospects, as Francisco Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Vientos will all be in the lineup.
The Mets will be getting some big names back soon, as Starling Marte will be making his spring training debut on Friday, and Brandon Nimmo is hopeful to play over the weekend, according to Buck Showalter.
Three Things To Watch For
- Just Another Day in the Office for Max: Today’s WBC exhibition matchup is just another day in the office for Max Scherzer. He’s made two appearances, totaling 4 2/3 innings this spring with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP, although he did allow seven unearned runs in his previous start. A lot happened during Scherzer’s last outing. He got called for a balk. Then he tried to play games with the pitch clock again, and flew a little too close to the sun. Rather than getting a double play, he got called for a pitch clock violation and his inning unraveled from there. We’re going to talk about the intensity of this matchup a bit later, but it’s safe to say no matter how anyone else on the Mets approaches this game, Max will be his normal, super intense self.
- Old Friends: No current Mets are playing for Nicaragua, but several former Mets are. Erasmo Ramírez, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Kevin Gadea are all on the Nicaragua roster. Ramírez pitched for the Mets in 2020 and had a 0.63 ERA, 3.68 FIP over six games and 14 1/3 innings. Since then he has played for the Tigers and the Nationals.
- Will The Game Be Intense? Hold Max Scherzer aside because he’s his own entity — how intense will today’s game be? For the Mets this is still a spring training game with guys trying to get their reps in. For Nicaragua, this is a key tune up game as they play meaningful WBC games in a couple of days. Energy is contagious, and it’s possible the younger Mets will feed off of and replicate the energy that the Nicaraguan team will be presenting.
Let’s Go Mets!
The post MMO Game Thread: Nicaragua vs Mets, 6:10 P.M. first appeared on Metsmerized Online.