Spring Training Game Chat: Astros vs Mets, 1:10 PM

Tuesday, February 24, 2026 • 1:10 PM
Clover Park • Port St. Lucie, FL
RHP Jason Alexander vs. RHP Jack Wenninger
SNY

The Mets return home this afternoon after two road wins in a row. A home spring training game (generally) means more regular starters in the lineup and SNY coverage of the game!

This is the second time this spring the Mets are rolling out Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette as the top three hitters in the lineup, possibly hinting what the top of the lineup may look like on days when Francisco Lindor does not play. Today is also the second time this season we are seeing Bichette at third, Soto in left and Ronny Mauricio at short, the most likely fielding alignment for those players.

Mets Lineup

1. Marcus Semien – 2B
2. Juan Soto – LF
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Mike Tauchman – RF
5. Luis Torrens – C
6. Ronny Mauricio – SS
7. Tyrone Taylor – CF
8. Jose Rojas – 1B
9. Ben Rortvedt – DH

Starting Pitcher: Jack Wenninger

Opposing Lineup

1. Jeremy Peña – SS
2. Joey Loperfido – RF
3. Cam Smith – CF
4. Zach Cole – LF
5. Zach Dezenzo – DH
6. Shay Whitcomb – 2B
7. CJ Alexander –  1B
8. Nick Allen – 3B
9. César Salazar – C

Starting Pitcher: Jason Alexander

Game Notes

Carlos Mendoza said the Mets will have sim games the next couple of days for the likes of Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. Baty and Alvarez should get spring game action by the weekend.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Jonah Tong’s Best Friend. Jack Wenninger, also known as Jonah Tong’s best friend, gets the start today. Wenninger is the next major upcoming pitching prospect for the Mets and was recognized as the No. 79 prospect in baseball by Fangraphs a week ago. Wenninger started to put results together in 2025 with an ERA of 2.92, down from 4.30 the year before. He is not going to overpower hitters, he mainly utilizes a low-90s fastball and low-80s splitter (his best pitch), mixing in a sweeper, cutter and curveball all out of the three-quarters arm slot.
2. Fielding. You’ll go insane as a baseball fan taking a small-sample size of attempts and extrapolating from there. That started to happen in some corners of the internet after Bo Bichette’s slightly off throw in his first game at third base. It was one throw, on one attempt. Hopefully he has a game today to turn down the temperature in Panic City.
3. Mike Tauchman. Tauchman signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to major league camp eight days ago. He was signed as an insurance policy for right field in case the Mets current plans (Baty and waiting for Benge) doesn’t work out. Tauchman is coming off of a solid year for the White Sox where he put up a 1.9 bWAR over 385 PA’s, slashing .263/.356/.400 with a 112 OPS+. He’s had an OPS+ over 100 for three seasons in a row now. Maybe Tauchman is the minor league contract that ends up being the x-factor for the Mets in 2026.

Let’s go Mets!

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