A much, much better performance from Oliver Perez.
On The Mound
Perez made the start tonight for the Mets, his second since returning to the Mets after the World Baseball Classic. He turned out a much better performance than his first time around.
6 2-3 innings for Perez, who only allowed four hits and one walk. He struck out three. The sole run came from a Adam Jones solo home run that was hit very, very hard.
Extremely pleased by this start from Ollie. You can't ask for much more than this, especially from Perez who had been struggling lately.
J.J. Putz relieved Perez, pitching 1 1-3 innings. He allowed one hit. Bobby Parnell closed out the game, walking one and striking out one. He earned the save.
Both looked awesome. The bullpen will be much improved.
At The Plate
Mets tallied six hits, four for extra base hits.
Daniel Murphy went 2-4, hitting a solo home run, the first of the spring, for the Mets first run. He just missed out on a second home run with his double, as the ball was just two feet shy of clearing the fence.
Batting second, where he likely will hit most of the season, Murphy looked more than comfortable at the plate.
Fernando Tatis scored the winning run in the bottom of the 8th innings all on his own. He drove a pitch from Jim Johnson into the gap between center and left field. Motoring around the bases, he slid into third base as the ball skipped past thirdbaseman Scott Moore.
The ball skipped into the dugout, allowing Tatis to move up one base, to home and to score.
Well done, Fernando. Well done.
On Deck
The Mets will play the Florida Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium tomorrow night. The game will not be on TV.
