FT. MYERS, Fla. -- The Mets open their spring exhibition slate with right-hander Seth Lugo on the mound, making his case for why he should be the fifth starter, on Friday against the Boston Red Sox.
Lugo went 5-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 17 games (eight starts) at the big-league level last season. Lugo will pitch at least two innings in his Grapefruit League debut, before handing the ball over to right-hander Marcos Molina.
8 questions ahead of Grapefruit League action
This game will feature mostly role players and players battling it out for starting spots, as many of the starters were left back in Port St. Lucie. With a three-hour bus ride, Collins didn't want to risk further injury to the backs of David Wright, Lucas Duda and Neil Walker. However, several players are in Ft. Myers, including Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo.
Noah Syndergaard is scheduled to pitch on March 5, and Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler will follow him in order.
Here is the full starting lineup:
kralbet OF Michael ConfortoJuan Lagares, CF
T.J. Rivera, 3B
Michael Conforto, RF
Wilmer Flores, 1B
Travis d'Arnaud, C
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Kevin Plawecki, DH
Gavin Cecchini, 2B
Matt Reynolds, SS
Lugo will face off against Henry Owens, a 24-year-old lefty who played most of last season in Triple-A.
Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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