Fuji still has much left in the tank.
On Thursday night, right-hander Shintaro Fujinami made his much awaited spring debut against the Washington Nationals, following a few days away from the organization due to personal matters.
In his inning of work, Fujinami produced two groundouts and a flyout with just ten pitches; more significantly, though, he was consistently hitting the strike zone.
The 29-year-old was happy to complete his debut, and Carlos Mendoza of the Mets was impressed with what he saw.
“He was excellent,” Mendoza remarked. “We want him to come in and throw strikes like he did on his first outing. We are familiar with the arm and the material; he will assist us when he is in the zone.”
After topping out at about 94 mph on this session, Fujinami—who frequently reached speeds of 103 mph previous season—stated that he anticipates things to start trending upward as he advances.
“I could’ve thrown harder if I tried, as I throw more it’ll get better,” he stated.
Even though Fujinami only threw one inning on Thursday, his performance was strong enough to warrant a spot in the Mets bullpen as a weapon against star closer Edwin Diaz.
Jose Quintana, a left-hander for the Mets, had a fantastic second outing last week against the Houston Astros after having a rough debut in which he gave up two runs and three walks in just 1.2 innings of work.
You knew the veteran would be eager to rebound when he took the mound at Clover Park on Thursday night against the Washington Nationals, and he accomplished just that.
Quintana had plenty of traffic, but he was able to maneuver out of harm’s way. In three good innings, he struck out six batters and gave up just one unearned run on four hits.
“He was excellent,” Mendoza remarked. He succeeded in increasing his pitch count. Although he didn’t get as many strikes as we would have preferred, it’s encouraging to see that he was able to rapidly battle his way back into counts.
Due to a shoulder ailment, ace Kodai Senga is out for three weeks, therefore Quintana will probably start for New York on Opening Day against the Brewers.
The seasoned southpaw is prepared for this moment if that turns out to be the case.
“It would be an honor.” He answered. “On Opening Day, there is always special pitching, albeit we are not sure who it will be yet. It will be an honor; we’ll see who it is going to be.”
Alvarez’s momentous day
Francisco Alvarez, catcher for the Mets, had an amazing day in the field and at the plate.
In the top of the first inning, the young player showcased his arm when he drove Nationals RF Lane Thomas out of the game as he tried to take second after a leadoff single.
After a few innings, Alvarez struck out two more runners trying to steal second base in the space of a few pitches when slow worker Adam Ottavino was on the mound.
Next, he demonstrated his skill at the plate by smashing a 408-foot two-run home run, which proved to be the game-winning hit.
“Really good night,” Mendoza said. “Controlling the running game has been a big emphasis here in camp, so the fact that he threw some runners out it was good to see. And then you have the swing in the two-run homer, overall a really good game.”