PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Mets, who plated more than half of their runs on home runs last season, powered up again Thursday in an 11-6 thumping of the Marlins at First Data Field. Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo shot over the batter's eye in center, Neil Walker added a two-run blast and Phillip Evans struck the biggest blow with a grand slam.
The most impressive home run belonged to Cespedes, who lifted an 89-mph Dan Straily fastball over both the 410-foot fence in straightaway center field, and the batter's eye that rises dozens of feet into the air behind it.
"Four fastballs," Straily said when asked what he threw Cespedes, his former teammate in Oakland. "I played with the guy too long to know. I haven't faced them in games, but I've played with these guys way too long to know what happens when you throw Cespedes four straight fastballs."
Evans, who hit .335 at Double-A Binghamton last year, put the game out of reach with his grand slam off Matt Tomshaw in the fifth. He followed that up with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning to finish the day with five RBIs.
Starting pitchers Adam Conley of the Marlins and Robert Gsellman of the Mets matched zeros over the game's first two innings, before Straily entered and allowed four runs in the fourth. The Marlins did not plate their first run until an inning later, when Derek Dietrich singled home Miguel Rojas.
Marlins up next
After spending two consecutive days on the road, the Marlins are back at Roger Dean Stadium at 1:05 p.m. ET on Friday to take on the Nationals. Left-hander Justin Nicolino, competing for a rotation spot, is likely to throw two innings. Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna, who didn't play on Thursday, are in the starting lineup. Jose Urena also is scheduled to throw two innings, most likely after Nicolino.
Mets up next
The Mets' rollout of top starting pitchers begins Friday, when Noah Syndergaard makes his Grapefruit League debut in a 1:10 p.m. ET game against the Astros at First Data Field. Syndergaard will oppose Houston right-hander Charlie Morton.
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