Mets With Another Opening Day Win
If only everyday could be Opening Day for the New York Mets, they'd easily win 120 games a year. Earlier today, the Mets won their opener 9-4 on an overcast late March day over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets are now 37-20 on Opening Day with a .649 winning percentage, the best in MLB. In fact since 1970, the Mets have won 37 of their last 49 openers.
Noah Syndergaard showed why he is the ace of the staff. Syndergaard pitched 6 innings and struck out 10 batters in picking up the win, despite giving up 4 runs and 2 home runs. Syndergaard starts the season 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Robert Gsellman, Anthony Swarzak and Jeurys Familia all pitched a scoreless inning each with Gsellman striking out the side in the 7th.
Yoenis Cespedes had the big bat of the game. Cespedes went 2-5 with 3 RBIs. Cespedes starts the season with a .400 batting average, 0 home runs and 3 RBIs. New Mets Adrian Gonzalez and Todd Frazier also played key roles in the Mets win as Frazier went 1-4 with a run scored, and Gonzalez went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Mets got things going right away. In the first inning, Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch. After Cespedes struck out, Jay Bruce drew a walk. Asdrubal Cabrera then hit a grounder to first baseman Jose Martinez. Martinez fielded the ball but threw it over shortstop Paul DeJong's glove which allowed Nimmo to come all the way around to score to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the 2nd with one out, Jose Martinez lined a single to left. Yadir Molina then hit a 2-run home run off the foul pole in left to give the Cardinals a temporary 2-0 lead. However, the Mets came right back in the bottom of the 2nd. With one out, Kevin Plawecki drew a walk. After Syndergaard struck out, Amed Rosario singled to center and Nimmo walked to load the bases. Cespedes then lined a single over DeJong to score both Plawecki and Rosario to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. The Mets tried to do more damage after Bruce walked to reload the bases, but Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 3rd with one out, Adrian Gonzalez drew a walk. Plawecki then lined a double down the third base line and put runners on second and third with one out. However, Syndergaard struck out looking and Rosario grounded out to short to end the threat.
In the top of the 4th, Matt Carpenter dumped a double into right to lead off. After Marcell Ozuna struck out, Jose Martinez singled home Carpenter to tie the game at 3-3. After Molina flied out to right, DeJong singled to center to put runners on the corners with two out. However, Kolten Wong hit a comebacker to Syndergaard who threw out Wong.
In the bottom of the 5th with one out, Todd Frazier drew a walk. Gonzalez then doubled to right to score Frazier and give the Mets a 4-3 lead. This chased Cardinals' starting pitcher Carlos Martinez out of the game. Matt Bowman then came in to pitch and immediately gave up a walk to Plawecki. After Syndergaard's sacrifice bunt sent Plawecki and Gonzalez to second and third, Rosario grounded a single to left center to score both runners and give the Mets a 6-3 lead.
The Mets were not done. After Nimmo singled to left, Cespedes hit a single to left to score Rosario and give the Mets a 7-3 lead. This chased Bowman who was relieved by left hander Brett Cecil. Cecil was greeted by Bruce with a single to right to score Nimmo and blow the game open for the Mets at 8-3.
The Cardinals did get a run back in the top of the 6th when Jose Martinez hit a home run to left to cut the lead to 8-4. However, Asdrubal Cabrera drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the 8th. Two wild pitches, a Frazier strike out and a Gonzalez walk later; and the Mets found themselves with runners on the corners with one out. Plawecki then singled to left to score Cabrera which meant that all the position players in the starting lineup either scored or drove home a run as the Mets won 9-4 giving new Mets manager Mickey Callaway his first win.
With the win, the Mets begin the season 1-0 and sit tied for first in the NL East with the Miami Marlins losing 8-4 to the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds getting rained out. The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves were still playing as of this writing.
In other Mets news, there's a possibility that Michael Conforto could be back as early as April 5th. However, the Mets don't seem like they want to rush him back too soon and may get him into some rehab games before joining the team. Unfortunately, the Mets lost a
family member today as Rusty Staub passed away at the age of 73. Staub was known as "Le Grande Orange" and had a career batting average of .279 with 292 home runs and 1466 RBIs. Staub played 23 seasons with the Mets, Montreal Expos, Houston Astros and Detriot Tigers.
The Mets will be off on Friday but will be back in Game 2 of this 3 game series against the Cardinals on Saturday. Jacob deGrom will face Cardinal's pitcher Michael Waka. The game starts at 1:10pm on SNY and can be heard on 710am WOR and 1050am ESPN Deportes. The first 15,000 fans at Citi Field will receive a Build-A-Bear Mets Teddy.
