Mets: Steven Matz debuts, Travis d’Arnaud’s bat stays hot in win over Miami

The Mets offense stays hot as Steven Matz makes his first start of the spring.

Matz made his spring debut today, and performed well, tossing two scoreless innings, while giving up three hits as the Mets won 8-2 versus host Miami Marlins.

Matz had an injury plagued season that kept him out for much of 2016, including the last six weeks. However, just like Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey are also being eased in early in spring training, so is Matz, as he pitched just two innings.

As the spring progresses, not only will Matz pitch an extra inning or two, but he will also gain his effectiveness as the rust will diminish.

Matz – who had bone spurs in his left arm removed last October – was still able to top out at 94 mph, a number that’s a pleasant surprise for his first appearance in more than six months.

Travis d’Arnaud’s hot spring continued on Monday. He put the Mets on the board with a solo homer – his second of spring – in the fourth inning.

Going into this past offseason, there was uncertainty regarding d’Arnaud’s future with the Mets. However, this spring, thus far, he is only solidifying himself more and more as the team’s starting catcher posting an astonishing .450 average.

At this rate, the only aspect of d’Arnaud’s game that must be improved is his defense. He gave up a poor total of 61 stolen bases last year. He only threw out 17 of them all season – a rate of only 22 percent of the runners.

Finally, the young prospects Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, Champ Stuart, Luis Guillorme, Travis Taijeron, and L.J. Mazzilli each chipped in hits for New York. Although not all, if any, are going to make the Opening Day roster, it’s a bright sign for them.

Like most teams, the Mets are going to need more depth when a player gets hit with an injury, so it’s a plus to have these guys waiting in the wings.

Additionally, it’s even more of a positive for Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith. Smith has been struggling, and although he has an incredibly bright future, he needs to get a few sample at bats against MLB pitching again this year.

As for Rosario, not only is he the Mets’ top prospect, but he is now batting .316 in Spring Training – a great start for him.

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Finally, Guillorme, who became known widespread across Mets fans for making the bare handed bat catch, collected a pair of hits, going 2-4 in total.

All in all a great win for the Mets, as they improve to 7-4, and continue to show signs of improvement as Spring Training progresses.