The Mets get ready for the exhibition schedule to begin

The New York Mets will play an intrasquad game on Tuesday and begin their exhibition schedule on Wednesday.  Matt Harvey threw live BP on Monday and there was a lot of talk about that.  David Wright brought a fan down for a lesson on the field, that was pretty cool for the kid.  Sandy Alderson spoke and here are some highlights of what he had to say. 

The Mets could realistically win up to 89 games this season and that is without everyone having great seasons.  Alderson said that Harvey will have a normal spring and start the season as the team planned.  Wilmer Flores will have every oppurtunity to win the starting job at SS but Alderson said there are a few guys in camp who could challenge him. 

The Mets had conversations with the Phillies about trading for SS Jimmy Rollins but couldn't get a deal done.  Rollins just said over the weekend that the Mets were his second choice behind the Dodgers where he ended up.  Alderson said trades during spring training are tough but he will keep all of his options open. 

The Mets are working to limit Juan Lagares throwing this spring, in an effort to monitor the strained elbow that ended his season early last year.  Harvey threw 26 pitches to four batters on Monday.  The four batters were Curtis Granderson, Michael Cuddyer, Wright and Daniel Murphy.  Harvey later announced that he can now throw a curveball.  Harvey said he is ready to face the Tigers on Friday and will throw 35-40 pitches in the game. 

It will be more interesting now as the games are about to begin.  The Mets though will get a intrasquad game out of the way first on Tuesday before starting the games on Wednesday.  harvey wil be a big story on Friday when he gets into his first game action since his Tommy John Surgery.   

The New York Mets win a 14 inning marathon over the Philadelphia Phillies

The New York Mets defeated the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday evening.  The game took place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the final score was 5-4.  Jake deGrom started for the Mets and pitched well and the bullpen pitched pretty well.  Ruben Tejada led the offense with three hits.  David Wright and Bobby Abreu each had a couple of hits. 

deGrom pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and 11 strikeouts.   Josh Edgin retired the only batter that he faced, Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched one inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Scott Rice pitched 1/3 of an inning walking and striking out a batter.  Jeurys Familia pitched two innings giving up three hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts, Buddy Carlyle won his first game of the season pitching three innings and giving up two hits and a walk and Carlos Torres earned his second save of the season pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. 

Kyle Kendrick pitched six innings giving up eight hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  Mario Hollands pitched an inning giving up a hit and two walks with a strikeout, Jake Diekman pitched an inning walking one and Jonathan Papelbon pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one.  Jeff Manship pitched four perfect innings with six strikeouts and Antonio Bastardo pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks and lost his third game of the season. 

Chris Young had a hit and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and drew a walk and Wright had two hits and an RBI.  Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk, Abreu had two hits and an RBI and Lucas Duda had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Tejada had three hits, two RBI and drew two walks, deGrom drew a walk and Duda and Abreu each hit a double.  Tejada hit a homerun and the Mets were 4-15 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Young had a stolen base and Granderson was caught stealing.  Murphy committed an error. 

Ben Revere had two hits, Jimmy Rollins had a hit and drew a walk and Chase Utley had a hit and drew two walks.  Ryan Howard had two hits and three RBI, Marlon Byrd had a hit and drew a walk and Dominic Brown had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk.  Reid Brignac drew a walk, Carlos Ruiz had two hits and Byrd hit a double.  Revere hit a triple and Howard hit a homerun.  The Phillies were 2-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  Revere had a stolen base and Brown was caught stealing. 

In the first Abreu hit an RBI single and Duda an RBI double giving the Mets an early 2-0 lead.  Tejada hit a solo homerun in the fourth to extend the Mets lead to 3-0.  Tejada hit an RBI single in the sixth to make it a 4-0 game.  Howard hit a three run homerun in the seventh to pull the Phillies within a run at 4-3.  Brown hit an RBI single in the ninth to tie the game at four.  In the fourteenth inning Wright hit an RBI single giving the Mets a 5-4 lead and that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play on Sunday afternoon in game four of the five game series.  The Mets have won two out of the first three games.