1 AB, 1 HR for Alonso; Butto K's 4 in a row

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Pete Alonso isn’t departing for the World Baseball Classic for another week-plus, but he already appears overprepared.

The slugger crushed a line-drive homer off Braxton Garrett in his first at-bat of the Grapefruit League season on Saturday, tying a game the Mets went on to win, 5-2, over the Marlins -- following their split-squad loss to the Astros earlier in the day.

“I’m just trying to put quality swings on quality pitches,” Alonso said. “I’m just happy I hit it hard in between the lines. It felt really good to take a short, compact swing and capitalize on a pitch in my zone.”

It was the second consecutive day of game action for Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar, all of whom played in an intrasquad exhibition Friday at Clover Park. Those four starting position players are leaving on March 6 to compete in the WBC, prompting Mets officials to speed up their usual spring progression. Alonso took more live batting practice early in camp than he usually would, and he even hit leadoff in the intrasquad game to see additional pitches.

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Asked if he’s indeed ready for the WBC, which begins for Team USA on March 11, Alonso chuckled.

“I’ll take a full week [of games] … but I guess I’m in a good spot,” he said.

Lessons learned
The highlight of Jose Butto's 2022 season was also the lowlight: his Major League debut, which ended after he allowed seven runs over four innings of a game in Philadelphia on Aug. 21. Although the Mets came back to win that night, Butto’s MLB experience ended a few days later when the team sent him back to Triple-A Syracuse.

“I learned a lot after that start,” Butto said through an interpreter. “I have the confidence that this year will be a better year for me.”

Specifically, Butto said he became more diligent about watching video and using it to keep his mechanics in line. The organization’s No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Butto wound up finishing strong, producing a 1.01 ERA over his final five starts at Triple-A.

He continued that momentum Saturday at Clover Park, striking out four consecutive batters to begin his first Spring Training start against the Marlins. Although an inherited run tarnished Butto’s line after he left the game, his stuff -- including a fastball that sat at 95 mph and touched 97 -- remained sharp throughout the outing.

Butto should open this season in Syracuse's rotation, with a chance to impact the Majors later this summer.

“Everyone dreams of being in the Major Leagues, and that’s what everyone works for,” Butto said. “God-willing this year if everything goes right, I’ll be up there again.”

Taking things slow
Only two starting Mets position players did not appear in either half of the team’s Saturday split-squad games: Starling Marte, who is on a slower progression due to offseason groin surgery, and Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo is completely healthy, but his lengthy injury history prompted him to question and ultimately revamp his spring routine. Rather than jump into the first week of games, Nimmo is ramping up on the back fields with a plan to take part in Grapefruit League action toward the end of next week.

Saturday, Nimmo took live batting practice on a back field off a group of pitchers including Edwin Díaz, Carlos Carrasco and Tylor Megill.

From the trainer’s room
Darin Ruf, who received a cortisone shot in his right wrist at the start of camp, spent Friday and Saturday swinging in an indoor batting cage. Ruf should graduate to on-field batting practice soon, which -- in his estimation, at least -- should leave him plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day.

If healthy, Ruf will serve as the right-handed half of a DH platoon with Daniel Vogelbach.