Trevor Rogers takes another 'step in the right direction' as spring training rolls on

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL—It was a beautiful evening for baseball as Trevor Rogers power outage at Clover Park in the first inning rendered Statcast inoperable for the first half of the game, meaning we could not glean any data from Trevor Rogers' pitches. We did ask Trevor about a few of his pitches, namely the back-to-back strikeouts in the first inning against Pete Alonso and Francisco Alvarez, which came on a changeup and a two-seam fastball, respectively. 

Trevor told us after the game that this is the best his body has bounced back between starts in a very long time and that he's feeling fully recovered from his injuries. 

Trevor's final line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 45/33 P/S

Skip on Trevor Rogers: "I thought Rogers was great. I thought his fastball command was there, and I thought the split was really, really good tonight. He commanded all his pitches and threw a lot of strikes."

Max Meyer relieved Rogers just as Statcast came back to life in the middle of the fourth inning, wearing goggles over his eyes that he has been seen using lately. He told us that he has been wearing them because his eyes get dry quickly, and any dust or debris makes it harder for him to see, so he wears the goggles as protection. When asked if he was trying to look more like Jesús Luzardo, Max said, "He's a good guy to copy."

Meyer's fastball velo averaged 93.9 MPH over the 17 times he threw it, generating one whiff, while his changeup generated two whiffs with an average velocity of 85.5 MPH in the five times he threw it. 

Max's final line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 39/23 P/S

Notable Nuggets

Tim Anderson silenced the crowd chanting "overrated" at him during his first plate appearance by crushing an opposite-field home run directly into a stiff breeze on the first pitch of his at-bat. Tim said of the homer, "I just try to go out, play hard, play my game, and try not to pay them any mind. They weren't chanting it when I came to the plate the second time, so I think I made my point."

Anderson also added that, "I'm at my best when I'm [hitting the ball] to the right field."

Jazz Chisholm Jr. showed off his wheels in the bottom of the fourth, getting a perfect read on a 108.5 MPH ball off the bat of Starling Marte. Jazz reached a sprint speed of 26.3 ft/sec as he traveled the 92 feet straight back to run down the ball in the air on the track.

Skip said of the play, "For him, it's more about the first step, the pre-pitch. He's as good as anybody on the first step. You can see it. It's natural to him now. He's a special talent. You need to be strong up the middle to win, and having him, especially in our park, is a huge advantage for us."

Edwin Díaz made his return to the mound for the Mets for the first time since suffering a leg injury while celebrating after recording the final out of Puerto Rico's win over the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The moment the bullpen gate opened and "Narco" started playing over the loudspeakers, the entire Mets dugout was hanging over the railing while the crowd erupted to greet him as he made his way to the mound. He struck out the side just to top it all off—Jesús Sánchez, Avisaíl García and Jon Berti each went down swinging.

Skip on Edwin: "Just as a fan of baseball, you like to see him come back. That was a tough injury during the WBC which was so much fun for baseball. For that to happen to him. He's in our division and you don't want to face him. Ever. But as a fan, you want the best players on the field. He's one of the best closers. You never want to see an injury like that happen. So it was just really good to see him back on the mound and hopefully he throws three [games] in a row before we get into town so we don't have to face him multiple times."

Noah's Notes

• Jake Burger made his first appearance of the spring at first base. 
• Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender, and Anthony Maldonado pitched scoreless innings in relief. Bender and Maldonado each recorded two strikeouts. 
• The Marlins pitching staff recorded their fourth shutout of the spring.
• Jesús Luzardo starts Tuesday against the Houston Astros at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.