d'Arnaud, Rivera homer; Lugo throws zeros vs. Fish
JUPITER, Fla. -- A couple of solo home runs from Travis d'Arnaud and T.J. Rivera held up, as right-hander Seth Lugo threw three scoreless innings and the Mets held off the Marlins, 3-1, at Roger Dean Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
Lugo, who will pitch for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, limited the Marlins to two hits and struck out two during his 37-pitch outing. All the offense the Mets needed came in the second inning as d'Arnaud and Rivera each connected off A.J. Ramos.
The Marlins got on the board in the sixth inning on Christian Yelich's RBI groundout to second base. Martin Prado had a double in the inning.
Marlins left-hander Wei-Yin Chen worked one scoreless inning, struck out one and threw just nine pitches. The Marlins then used a number of their primary late-inning relievers, beginning with Ramos, who was followed by Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps.
Chen's short stint was encouraging, but Miami manager Don Mattingly treated the first outing for all of his starters as a chance to just get acclimated with a game environment.
"We talked about it with all the guys coming through there," Mattingly said. "Get them out there, get the inning in. Hopefully, they're feeling good, but not so much worrying about the result. Just get out there and get started, and then hopefully progressing to building these guys up towards the season."
Miami threatened in the second inning against Lugo. Justin Bour singled and went to third on Marcell Ozuna's single to right. But with one out, and a full count, Lugo got J.T. Realmuto to lift a fly ball to short right field. Michael Conforto made a sliding catch and threw home to nab Bour, who had tagged up on the play.
Mets up next
Prospect Marcos Molina will make his first Grapefruit League start, and second appearance, when the Mets return to Jupiter for a 1:05 p.m. ET game Wednesday against the Cardinals. Also scheduled to pitch is Noel Salas, who is tuning up to appear for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Carlos Martinez will start for St. Louis.
Marlins up next
The Marlins on Wednesday make their first visit to the Astros' new Spring Training home, Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tom Koehler will start in the the 1:05 p.m. ET matchup, and Edinson Volquez is also scheduled to throw at least an inning of relief. The Astros will go with right-hander Chris Devenski. Most of the Marlins' regulars are scheduled to make the trip, including Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton.
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