PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets’ bullpen imploded and Tom Gorzelanny’s tryout didn’t quite go as planned, but the real story of the 5-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Houston Astros on Monday was the appearance of closer Jeurys Familia.
Familia is preparing to pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. But after that? He doesn’t quite know when he’ll be back on the mound, as he’s still waiting for MLB to issue a suspension for his domestic violence case.
Familia pitched the third inning on Monday at First Data Field, getting into the game earlier than usual to be able to face quality hitters. He gave up three hits and one earned run — an RBI single to Jose Altuve.
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“You’ve got to get ready for the season,” manager Terry Collins said. “That’s our job and certainly, you’ve got to get him ready to go pitch the WBC. We can’t throw him in there and have anything happening at that tournament. So he’ll go there and when he gets back from that, we’ll get him ready to start the season.”
P.J. Conlon
Conlon: The Mets’ 2016 minor league pitcher of the year, left-hander P.J. Conlon, made his Grapefruit League debut and went two scoreless innings. It was the first appearance in a major league spring training game for the 23-year-old non-roster invitee.
“It was a pretty surreal experience,” Conlon said. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Growing up, you always picture yourself playing against guys like Altuve and stuff like that. To see him get in the box, it was a pretty surreal experience. It was a lot of fun today.”
Gorzelanny: Another non-roster invitee, left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, had an outing he’d probably like to do over. He faced five straight batters without getting an out, giving up the game-tying run and three more, before finally getting an inning-ending double play. Gorzelanny is in camp on a minor league contract and vying for one of two left-handed jobs open in the Mets’ bullpen.
Venezuela: Wilmer Flores and Asdrubal Cabrera each homered for the Mets. Flores’ home run was particularly important, as it came off of right-hander Michael Feliz.
What’s next: Seth Lugo will make his second spring training start on Tuesday when the Mets travel to play the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, Fla.
Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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