Mike zone: Conforto's HR, 2 runs pace Mets
This browser does not support the video element.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Michael Conforto's white-hot start to spring continued with another home run on Sunday, part of a two-hit effort in the Mets' 5-2 win over the Tigers at First Data Field.
Conforto's second homer in three games came off Tigers left-hander Daniel Stumpf, extending the Mets' lead to 3-0 in the sixth. He also singled and scored the Mets' first run on Travis d'Arnaud's single in the fourth inning, giving him five hits -- two of them off lefties -- in seven spring at-bats. This is a critical spring for Conforto, who is attempting to make the team as a backup outfielder.
"I know I feel good," Conforto said. "I think a lot of the things I was working on this offseason … have been huge for me. And also the work that we've been putting in, the extra swings and stuff … it's definitely paying off. I've just got to stick to the routine and hopefully keep doing what I'm doing."
This browser does not support the video element.
The Tigers sent few regulars on their two-and-a-half-hour bus ride across Florida for the game. Victor Martinez (1-for-3 with a single) and José Iglesias (0-for-2) were the notable exceptions on their travel roster.
This browser does not support the video element.
Replacing originally scheduled starter Chris Flexen, Mets pitcher Paul Sewald had little trouble with that lineup, trading zeros with Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd over the game's first two innings. Flexen was a late scratch due to a sore right knee. Boyd allowed just two hits, both of them singles, striking out a pair.
The Tigers' two runs came in the eighth, when Tyler Collins singled home Austin Green, who doubled, and Dominic Ficociello.
Up Next
Tigers: Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann gets the start for the Tigers when they host Atlanta at 1:05 p.m. ET on Monday in Lakeland, Fla. He will be opposed by Braves right-hander R.A. Dickey in a game that will air on Gameday Audio.
Mets: Northern Ireland-born P.J. Conlon will make his spring debut on Monday when the Mets host the Astros in a 1:10 p.m. ET game that will air on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio. Right-hander Joe Musgrove will start for Houston.