Juan Soto, Mark Vientos, and Luis Torrens all homer in Mets’ win over Cardinals

The Mets hit three home runs and allowed just three hits in an 8-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night in Grapefruit League action.

Here are the takeaways…

– RHP Griffin Canning made his second start of the spring and came out of the gate firing, tossing a 1-2-3 first inning with a strikeout. He let up a leadoff single in the second inning, but got the next three Cardinals, including another strikeout.

The 28-year-old had another 1-2-3 inning in the third, including back-to-back strikeouts to give him four K’s on the night. Canning came back out for the fourth inning, getting another strikeout and a groundout before handing the ball over to Carlos Guzman for the final out of the frame.

Canning’s final line: 3.2 shutout innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts.

– Starling Marte hit a double down the line to left field off of Sonny Gray in his first AB of spring training in the bottom of the second inning. He nearly recorded an RBI, but Jesse Winker was thrown out at the plate. Marte came around to score on Jeff McNeil‘s double to the wall in right field that gave New York a 1-0 lead.

Marte and McNeil both struck out swinging against Gray in the bottom of the third inning. Marte finished the day 1-for-2 with a run scored, while McNeil went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

– Luis Torrens stepped up in place of Francisco Alvarez and crushed a two-run homer, his first this spring, in the bottom of the second inning to put the Mets up 3-0. Torrens showed his defensive skills in the top of the fifth, picking off Victor Scott at first base for the third out.

– Juan Soto blasted his third HR of spring training in the bottom of the third, as the solo shot made it a 4-0 game. Soto then doubled in the fifth inning, and after hitting his first HR this spring on Sunday, Mark Vientos crushed a two-run homer to right field to give NY a 6-0 lead. Soto finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored; Vientos went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a HBP.

– RHP Ryne Stanek got the first two outs of the fifth inning, but then walked two straight Cardinals and was replaced by Guzman to get the last out thanks to spring training rules.

– Francisco Lindor stayed in the game for a fourth AB in the bottom of the seventh, but grounded out to short to remain hitless. With runners on the corners and the one out, Luisangel Acuña drove in a run on a grounder through the infield to right field. Yonatan Henriquez singled to tack on another, making it 8-0.

Who was the game MVP?

Torrens, who displayed his two-way ability with a home run and pick-off. The 28-year-old is expected to start a majority of the games with Alvarez sidelined.

What’s next

The Mets travel to CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches to face the Houston Astros on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Tylor Megill will make his second start of the spring after allowing one run on two hits over 2.2 IP against the Cardinals on March 4. Nolan McLean, the No. 3 prospect on SNY contributor Joe DeMayo’s updated top 30 Mets prospects list, will make his spring training debut and follow Megill.