Catchers impress Callaway

SARASOTA, Fla. — If the Mets do indeed use a platoon catching system, manager Mickey Callaway is confident he’ll be comfortable choosing between Travis d’Arnaud or Kevin Plawecki on any day.

And on Sunday, d’Arnaud put his credentials on display in a 5-4 spring training win over the Orioles. D’Arnaud slugged a solo homer on a 3-0 pitch in his first at-bat, rapped a tworun double his second time up. OK, he struck out twice after that, but there was a lot more. He threw out one runner stealing and made a terrific play, sliding, spinning and throwing to end the first. “That was sexy,” starter and winner Noah Syndergaard said of the defensive gem. “He’s been tremendous, him and Plawecki, what great camps they’re having. He’s doing great,” Callaway said. “He’s been working really hard on his throwing. It paid off today. I thought he would have thrown out two. That one, the first one, the ball cut like 5 feet [allowing Cedric Mullins to swipe second]. The second one was right on the money [nailing Tim Beckham]. They were both in the 1.9 area and that’s a really good pop time for anybody.” Callaway said he is “not sure” how the whole catcher thing will play out, but “we can put either one of them back there and feel totally comfortable.” And it will not be determined on righty or lefty opposing pitchers, more their style, the manager said.

After Seth Lugo was touched for a three-run homer that made the game 5-4, Callaway called on Robert Gsellman to finish the Orioles. And he did so — with the tying run on third.

“I was kind of glad Gsellman had to come into a one-run game and pitch the ninth with something on the line,” Callaway said. “And then he got a man on third and upped it even more. He was walking off the field and said, ‘I love that.’ That got me going.”

Zack Wheeler will throw a one-inning simulated game Monday and start Thursday against Washington.