Spring Training Game Chat: Mets vs. Marlins, 1:10 PM

Tuesday, March 17, 2026 • 1:10 PM
Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium • Jupiter, FL
LHP Sean Manaea (0-2, 6.35) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (1-1, 6.75)
MIA Audio

Nolan McLean starts in the WBC Final this evening for Team USA, a game that will surely be attended by Mets players. While that is by far the major story for the Mets today, the Mets still have a game this afternoon.

The Mets head south to Jupiter this afternoon to take on the Marlins. This should also put the Mets about halfway between St. Lucie and Miami for tonight’s game! This will be the fifth time the Mets face the Marlins in spring training. After today, they’ll face the Marlins on the last day of spring. The two teams will get a long break of not seeing each other, with their first regular-season series happening in late May.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor – SS
2. Marcus Semien – 2B
3. Bo Bichette – 3B
4. Jorge Polanco – 1B
5. Luis Robert Jr. – CF
6. Brett Baty – RF
7. Luis Torrens – C
8. Mike Tauchman – DH
9. Tyrone Taylor – LF

Starting Pitcher: Sean Manaea

Opposing Lineup

1. Otto Lopez – SS
2. Agustín Ramírez – C
3. Connor Norby – 1B
4. Owen Caissie – LF
5. Christopher Morel – RF
6. Graham Pauley – DH
7. Esteury Ruiz – CF
8. Jacob Berry – 3B
9. Johnny Olmstead – 2B

Starting Pitcher: Sandy Alcantara

Game Notes

Before the game, the Mets optioned MJ Melendez and Christian Scott to Triple-A, and they reassigned Adbert Alzolay, Christian Arroyo, Nick Burdi, Daniel Duarte and Jose Rojas to minor-league camp. There are 46 players left in camp.

Read up on Huascar Brazoban‘s dominance since raising his release point. He should make the Opening Day roster barring any injury as he settles back into spring after the WBC.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Sean Manaea. Manaea’s velocity was down again in his last start. After the game, both the Mets and Manaea assured reporters that they are not concerned about the drop. In both spring starts, he has averaged between 88 and 89 mph on his fastball, which is a 3-4 mph drop from his career average. This has not happened in spring training for Manaea before. Hopefully, as he gets more innings under his belt this spring, his velocity will at least take a step towards his 2025 numbers (91-92 mph), which were a bit lower than his career speeds, too.
2. Opening Day around the horn. The Mets projected Opening Day defensive alignment of Polanco at first, Semien at second, Bichette at third and Lindor at short will all be on the diamond together! The Mets’ defensive experiment will finally get its first real test!
3. Luis Robert Jr. Luis has been great in his first several spring games with the Mets going 3-for-7 at the plate with a run scored. The Mets are still trying to manage his reps to help him avoid injury.

Let’s go Mets!

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