Mike zone: Conforto's HR, 2 runs pace Mets
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."
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 Jose Iglesias (0-for-2) were the notable exceptions on their travel roster.
Replacing originally scheduled starter Chris Flexen, Mets pitcher Paul Sewald had little trouble with that lineup, trading zeros with Tigers left-hander Matt 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.