METS 2, ORIOLES 1
at Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Monday, March 30

Orioles at the plate: The lone offense against Mets starter Oliver Perez came in the third inning, when Adam Jones blasted a solo homer over the right-center-field fence. Catcher Chad Moeller, battling to become the backup backstop, singled in his second at-bat.

Mets at the plate: Daniel Murphy produced two of the four hits off O's starter Alfredo Simon, one of which was a solo home run in the fourth. Luis Castillo had yet another opposite-field single -- his specialty this spring -- but Carlos Delgado left three men on base over the first six innings. The Mets took the lead when Fernando Tatis tripled to lead off the eighth inning, then scored on Chris Gomez's throwing error.

Orioles on the mound: Competing for one of three vacant spots in Baltimore's rotation, Simon pitched brilliantly, allowing one run in six innings and striking out three. That marked the longest outing by any Orioles pitcher this spring.

Mets on the mound: Perez pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out three batters and walking one. His relief, J.J. Putz, recorded the final out of the seventh inning before pitching a scoreless eighth.

Grapefruit League records: Orioles, 12-17; Mets, 14-14

Up next: Hayden Penn, another candidate for one of the final slots in the Orioles' rotation, is slated to pitch at Fort Lauderdale Stadium on Tuesday afternoon against the Cardinals. He will oppose Adam Wainwright in the 1:05 p.m. ET game.

John Maine's final Florida tuneup will come on Tuesday in Jupiter, Fla., where the Mets will take on the Marlins in a 7:05 p.m. ET game. Maine will face right-hander Anibal Sanchez.