Ogasawara introduced to tough Mets lineup, Wood felt good in debut

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – When Shinnosuke Ogasawara took the mound on Sunday back in West Palm Beach, he faced a Mets lineup that wasn’t filled with everyday major leaguers for his first start on American soil. It was a relatively manageable order for him to navigate in his first taste of Grapefruit League action.

In his second start this afternoon, the Japanese left-hander had to don his gray Nationals pants for the first time and make the hour-long bus ride up to Clover Park to face the same Mets team, although with a vastly different lineup.

New York manager Carlos Mendoza ran out his gauntlet of a lineup, which has $1.298 billion invested in just the first four hitters alone in Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo.

Ogasawara held his own in the first inning of the game – in which the Nats were shut out 7-0 – but had a rude introduction to the real National League East in the second.

“Even in Japan, we know everybody that are All-Stars,” Ogasawara said, via interpreter Jumpei Ohashi, “so (I was) so excited to get on the mound today.”

Lindor hit a single to lead off the bottom of the first, another loud sound off the bat which was too noticeable during Ogasawara’s first start. But the lefty came back to fool Soto on back-to-back curveballs (one at 69 mph, one at 70 mph) for an easy flyout.

“He's a really good hitter, for sure,” Ogasawara said of his first time facing Soto. “The curveball was very good, and I threw it to get him uncomfortable. But we're gonna face him more in the season, so I need to talk more with the coaches and staff.”

Ogasawara would have been out of the inning after that by getting Alonso to ground into what should have been a double play. But Nasim Nuñez’s fielding error at shortstop prolonged the frame, and after Ogasawara walked the bases loaded, he surrendered a two-run single to Luis Torrens.

And as Nats fans know, Soto doesn’t forget.

In the second left-on-left matchup, Ogasawara tried to sneak a 91 mph fastball by Soto after sending him a 77 mph curveball and 78 mph changeup. The slugger was ready for it.

Soto demolished the 1-1 offering 106 mph off the bat the opposite way for a two-run homer, his second in a Mets uniform.

“I just missed,” Ogasawara said plainly.

“Shin was good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He should have gotten out of the first inning if we turned a double play. The home run to Soto was just location, but I thought he threw the ball well.”

That ended Ogasawara’s afternoon after 1 ⅔ innings, four hits, four runs (two earned), one walk and two strikeouts on 32 pitches, 24 strikes.

“When I go out, I cannot throw (to the hitter’s) strongest point anymore,” he said. “So I cannot miss anymore.”

“In our division, you're going to face those kind of lineups every five days with them,” Martinez said. “But it was good for him to face those guys, to see them. Like I said, he had a lot of uncomfortable swings, but his stuff does play. He's got a good curveball, a really good changeup, which he didn't throw a whole lot. But his changeup does work. And like I said, he's just getting used to throwing his fastballs up in the zone, which we kind of like. So we're going to continue to work with that.”

Offensively, the Nationals struggled against the Mets’ top prospect in right-hander Brandon Sproat and the six relievers that followed him. They only had eight baserunners throughout the game. The good news: James Wood was two of them in his spring debut.

In the leadoff spot as the designated hitter, Wood went 1-for-2 with a walk in his first Grapefruit League appearance since reporting to camp with right quad tendinitis.

He grounded out to second in his first at-bat, then pulled a cutter from right-hander Justin Hagenman for a single to right and drew a five-pitch walk in his final plate appearance before Yohandy Morales pinch-ran for him.

“I felt good and I feel good now,” Wood said after his day was done. “Just good seeing some arms and seeing some fans and just playing again.”

Wood has been able to take batting practice all along and recently started running and participating in outfield work. He initially described his quad as “pissed off” when he first addressed the injury. He now has a nicer word for it.

“It feels good. It calmed down a lot more,” he said. “Maybe that’s a better word. But yeah, it feels good.”

Wood has only missed five Grapefruit League games so far, but he was happy to get back in the lineup as opposed to just swinging in the cages.

“Seeing a different team. You're digging in against a different jersey, playing in front of fans,” Wood said of the benefit of playing in actual games again. “I mean, obviously it's not like the season, but this is the closest you're gonna get.”

Wood will DH again on Sunday while inching closer to playing the field in a controlled environment on the backfields in West Palm Beach.

“I'll talk to him tomorrow and see how he feels,” Martinez said. “He'll continue to work, he'll continue running the bases, working in the outfield. He'll have the day (off) tomorrow, and then he'll DH again the next day. We'll see how that goes. And then maybe get him down, like I said, in a controlled environment, get him out in the outfield and see how he does that. The biggest thing is being on his feet the whole time, going back and forth.”

* Rule 5 pick Evan Reifert bridged the gap between Ogasawara and Mitchell Parker, who entered the bottom of the fourth as if he were starting the game.

Parker was charged with five hits, a double, two runs and two strikeouts in 2 ⅓ innings on 42 pitches, 31 strikes. Soto was one of the strikeouts, however, on a high 93 mph fastball.

“Very good, very good. He threw the ball well,” Martinez said. “We stretched him out. We wanted to get him up to 40 pitches, but he threw the ball well.”