Willie Harris Helps His Cause, Impresses Mets' Collins
JUPITER, Fla. (WFAN/AP) — Veteran Willie Harris helped his bid to make the Mets' roster with a pair of doubles during Thursday's 9-4 win over the Marlins, and won raves from manager Terry Collins.
"He's a pro," Collins said. "He plays anywhere. He does anything he needs to do to win a game. He's one of the most lively guys on the bench, even in spring training. He treats every game as if it means something, and I'm impressed by that."
Jordany Valdespin and Kai Gronauer each hit a three-run homer for New York. Ozzie Martinez had three hits for Florida.
Mets starter Dillon Gee allowed three hits in three shutout innings.
Meanwhile, sitting at his locker, Florida Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez wore a frown to go with that big bag of ice on his lower right leg.
Sanchez was hit by a groundball, bruising his calf. He remained in the game after being hit in the second inning but said he was sore afterward, and he wasn't sure whether he would miss his next scheduled start.
"I have to see how I feel Friday," the right-hander said. "It's painful at the moment. There's a lot of inflammation."
Manager Edwin Rodriguez said he doesn't expect Sanchez's pitching schedule to be disrupted.
"He might be sore Friday, but it's nothing serious," Rodriguez said.
Sanchez went 3 2-3 innings, allowing three runs and five hits. That included a sharp grounder by Russ Adams that deflected off Sanchez's leg for an RBI single.
"When the ball hit me, I didn't feel my leg," Sanchez said. "The ball was coming very, very hard."
Sanchez has been hampered by injuries since his rookie season in 2006 but pitched a career-high 195 innings last year, when he went 13-12.
Will Willie make the team? Make your prediction in the comments below...
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