NEW YORK — On Thursday afternoon Roberto Osuna Jersey , lt had his exit interview with manager Mickey Callaway and the coaching staff. But he’ll get one more opportunity to impress his bosses Friday night, when Oswalt will look to end an interesting rookie campaign on a high note as he takes the mound for the Mets in the opener of a season-ending three-game series against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field.Oswalt (3-3, 6.08 ERA) is scheduled to oppose the Marlins’ Jose Urena (8-12, 4.07 ERA) in a battle of right-handers.The Mets won the rubber game of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves Thursday, when Jason Vargas tossed seven scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory. The Marlins were off Thursday following a 9-3 loss Wednesday to the Washington Nationals, who swept the three-game set.Article continues below ...Oswalt will be making his 17th appearance and 12th start in a season in which he’s made six different trips to the majors. He is finishing the season in the rotation in place of Zack Wheeler, who was shut down due to innings earlier this month. This will be the fourth straight start for Oswalt, who took the loss last Saturday after allowing two runs over five innings as the Mets fell to the Nationals, 6-0.While Oswalt has fared far better as a starter (4.91 ERA) than a reliever (12.54 ERA), Callaway has been impressed with his ability to adapt to an unfamiliar role. The Mets (75-84) have five starters under contractual control, so it is likely Oswalt, who made just six relief appearances in 97 minor league games, will once again fill a swingman role at the start of 2019.“It’s not an easy task,” Callaway said Thursday afternoon. “We actually had our exit meeting with him today to talk about that http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , and that was kind of the main subject of it. ‘Hey, look, you’re going to come in next year and it might be the same way. So, you can embrace it and do the best you can and overcome it to put yourself in a position at some point to be able to stay every single day, or you can let it affect you.’ He’s done a great job of overcoming it and showing us what we need to see.”The Marlins (62-96) have also seen plenty this season out of Urena, who will make his team-high 31st start and needs to record six outs Friday to break his previous career-high for innings pitched (169 2/3).Urena has been especially impressive over his last six starts, a stretch in which he’s gone 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA and allowed one run or fewer five times. That includes last Saturday’s start, when he earned the win in the Marlins’ 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds by tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings before exiting with a sore right thigh.“He’s been aggressive in the strike zone,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters afterward. “He’s been keeping the ball down. It doesn’t look to me a whole lot different — he kind of always pitches the same way.”Oswalt is 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in two starts against the Marlins in his rookie season.Urena is 4-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 appearances (nine starts) against the Mets. That includes a 1-2 record with a 4.32 ERA in three starts against the Mets this year. MESA, Ariz. (AP) — For Anthony Rizzo, spring training sure has a different feel this year.The three-time All-Star showed up cracking jokes and slinging one-liners as he set out to help the Chicago Cubs bounce back from a disappointing finish last season.“It’s the first day; I picked out my outfit last night,” he said as position players officially reported to camp this week. “I was off to school.”Rizzo left camp a year ago to return to his home in Parkland, Florida, in the wake of a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A 2007 graduate Paul Molitor Jersey , he fought back tears as he spoke at a vigil for the 17 people killed. He visited victims in the hospital, spent time with family and talked with neighbors following the rampage.Once he rejoined his team, well, it wasn’t easy focusing on baseball. Rizzo acknowledged the shooting affected him — and it still does.“I went back and spoke from my heart,” he said. “It was a tough time. I still think about it every day for the most part. You have to move on in life and try to do the best I can.”The way Rizzo handled the tragedy gave a glimpse into how he became one of the team’s clubhouse leaders.“He’s a great teammate, great guy to be around,” Kris Bryant said. “I can’t get enough of him. I love the guy.”While Bryant clearly has affection for Rizzo, he doesn’t think the Cubs’ first baseman gets enough around the league.“I feel like he is still underrated,” Bryant said. “It’s tough — first base in the (National League) is loaded. He seems to be not talked about very much. He’s consistent and brings it every day.”Rizzo has had four straight 100 RBI seasons and five in a row with 25 home runs or more. Despite being slowed by a back injury early on and batting .149 through April, he finished with a .283 average, 25 homers and 101 RBIs last year. He also won his second Gold Glove.But with Cincinnati’s Joey Votto, Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell, Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar and St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt, the NL Central has no shortage of star power at first base.“It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be a battle http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey ,” Rizzo said. “Probably going to be some really intense games.”The Cubs feel like they have something to prove after blowing a five-game lead over Milwaukee in the Central and losing to Colorado in the wild card game. Chicago combined for just two runs over 22 innings and watched as the Brewers and Rockies celebrated on consecutive days at Wrigley Field. It was a weak finish after three straight trips to the NLCS and a drought-busting World Series championship in 2016.“A lot of guys are used to going to the NLCS,” Rizzo said. “To get knocked out, is like, ‘Whoa. What is this? Barbecuing in October?’ Just talking to everyone, everyone is excited.”Coming off a 95-win season, the Cubs were noticeably quiet in free agency because of budget constraints. That’s just fine with Rizzo.“It’s a challenge for all of us,” he said. “We didn’t win last year, so what are we supposed to do — sit back and do the same thing? That’s insanity. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to be better and take it upon us to lead this group.”Manager Joe Maddon likes what he’s seeing from Rizzo.“He looks great,” Maddon said. “He’s been working hard to create flexibility to his body. The extra month we’re not used to all of sudden had some benefit in how he felt and how eager he was to get going.”Urgency has been the buzzword in camp. And Rizzo senses it.“Maybe with a mentality we can set the tone a little bit better this year,” he said. “We go out there every day and try to win. I know we will come out strong.”