PORT ST. LUCIE â- Johan Santana appeared to get the most out of what he could in his final spring-training this morning.
Facing a lineup made up mostly of Mets minor-leaguers on a back diamond at Tradition Field, Santana threw 81 pitches over six scoreless innings. The simulated game didnât have umpires, but Santana had four strikeouts in the first four innings and the Mets said he threw 56 strikes overall.
The Mets didnât want their $137.5 million ace facing the Braves — their scheduled Grapefruit League opponent here today â- because Atlanta is the second team on their regular-season schedule next week and Santana will have a start in that series. Jonathan Niese started the spring-training game against the Braves instead.
Pedro Martinez is scheduled to do the same minor-league simulation as Santana on Wednesday because the Marlins are the Metsâ first opponent. Robert Parnell will start the spring-training game here against Florida instead.