Washington Nationals record 3-1 win in Spring Training against New York Mets - MLB Update
Rick Ankiel’s controlled swinging and brilliant homer helped the Washington Nationals move past the New York Mets 3-1 in their Major League Spring Training Grapefruit clash at Digital Domain Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida on Monday, March 5.
Likely replacement of Jose Reyes, Andres Torres a new leadoff batter provides a glimpse to the Mets as to the potential performance he can put up. Scoring the only home-run for the Mets in first inning, he was acrobatic, stealing a second after a walk and
running at the hits of Daniel Murphy.
"Andres got on twice tonight, and as I've said before, when he gets on, he scores runs, and he did that tonight," New York manager Terry Collins said.
Following a run in the first inning, Mets saw a drought until the last inning with none of their hitters allowed to free their arms.
John Lannan after giving an easy start to the Mets, recovered quickly, conceding just three hits, striking-out one and giving up one walk in three innings. Keeping the runners at bay and enticing them to the wrong side in his second and third inning, at
no occasion did the Mets look in a position to score a run.
At the back of a 3.70 ERA in his last 33 starts, Lannan is now looking for a place in the starting rotation for the Nationals.
Nationals must be happy finding Rick Ankiel back to his best. He is a player who dithered last season while judging for the swings and hits. He reigned on his muscles well and picked precisely the throws that looked within his grasp.
"He's more relaxed," Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson said. "Last year he was a little tense, and he said that helped make his swing tighter, but I think he is swinging better so far in spring."
Dillon Gee, starting pitcher for Mets had relatively a forgettable day, giving a home-run to Ankiel who swung the ball over left-field on a 2-0 fastball. Striking-out only one in two innings and giving a walk, Gee looked least concerned after the match.
"It's spring training so I'm not out there trying to trick guys," Gee said. "I'm out there to get myself feeling good about what's going on and not too focused on results.”
Mets can look forward to some positives in the form of Torres who showed his mettle in the play for their next assignment against Houston Astros on March 6.
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