Tonight at 7:05 p.m. ET, the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays square off in an exhibition game live from Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all of the action on WOR 710 while Toronto fans can do the same on Sportsnet 590 The Fan.
Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia makes his final bid for the fifth-starter gig on the team as he counters Toronto hurler Mark Buehrle. The Mets will play in Olympic Stadium, the home of their former rival Montreal Expos, for the first time in over a decade after the Expos became the Washington Nationals in the 2005 season.
Mejia is in competition with Daisuke Matsuzaka for the fifth spot in the Mets rotation after going 2-8 in 10 career Major League starts with a 4.04 ERA. Mejia went 0-1 in three starts this spring with a 2.89 ERA and 10 strikeouts. The Blue Jays will send out Buehrle, who went 12-10 in 33 games last season with a 4.15 ERA. This spring, the south paw went 1-1 in three starts with a 2.38 ERA and three strikeouts.
Matsuzaka said he's come to expect the unexpected in baseball when it comes to the Mets waiting to select a fifth starter.
"I've been here for several years now and have seen a lot of unexpected things happen," Matsuzaka told ESPN through interpreter Jeff Cutler on Thursday. "I think this was just one of those things. This whole spring I was ready for anything to happen, so I wasn't taken by surprise. It's just baseball, I guess. I understand the situation of the team, too. I just have to accept it and move forward."
Former Met and current Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes said he spoke to Mejia about the upcoming start.
"We were talking, and he told me that he was competing," Reyes told ESPN about Mejia going for the fifth spot in the rotation. "I told him, 'My brother, stay with your head high and continue to compete.'"
Reyes added: "He told me that he was pitching one of the days in Montreal, and he told me, 'Careful what you're going to do to me.' And I told him that I was not yet sure if I was going to play [because of a hamstring injury], but now I think I'm going to be in the lineup. I told him, 'I would like to wish you the best, because the talent is there.' He has been strong despite having several injuries."
The Jays also have ex-Mets R.A. Dickey and Josh Thole on their roster.
Reyes hit .296 in 93 games last season for Toronto with 10 homers, 37 RBI and 15 stolen bases.
Before the game, there will be a ceremony held for the late Gary Carter, who played for the Montreal Expos before coming over and being instrumental in the Mets 1986 World Series championship. His family will be in attendance.
The Mets and Blue Jays go head-to-head live from Olympic Stadium tonight in Montreal.
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