After a 4-6 road trip in which the Mets lost six of their last eight contests, they knew this game against an NL East rival was a big early season moment and they came through with flying colors with a 5-1 win.
In fact if you were building a pre-season blueprint based on the roster, this would have been the perfect picture-solid starting pitching plus timely hitting that gave a trio of relievers Seth Lugo, Jeurys Familia, and Edwin Diaz all they needed to shut the door on the Phillies.
Walking around the Met clubhouse both before and after this contest they were all very open about how important this early season moment was considering the disappointing road trip coupled with facing a pitcher who had his way with them just a week ago in Philadelphia.
So far the Mets have played 17 games against the NL East and have won 10 of those matchups with most of them coming on the road but they all know to a man they need to protect home turf in this division which they did not do a season ago.
To be perfectly honest it was refreshing to hear honest assessments from players that an April game had some meaning and then afterwards being equally honest about it. Pete Alonso was direct and to the point when he said that early season wins in this division could play a huge role because these teams will be battling all summer long.
My issue with the 2018 Mets was they were times not enough urgency was present when they began to stumble after a red hot start and I definitely can tell that is not the case with the 2019 version of the team.
And lets not forget Steven Matz, fresh off an ugly start in Philly, he rebounded nicely attacking the hitters with a plethora of first pitch strikes that made his arsenal hard for the potent Phillie bats to contend with and gave the trio of Lugo, Familia, and Diaz all they needed to slam the door shut on the Phils.
As the season goes on that will be two things to watch: will the Mets show urgency on the nights they need to show and can the bullpen be utilized in a way they close out games while not burning them out with overuse?
Those two factors will be the deciding concepts in the success of the 2019 Mets and could give them the NL East crown if both of them show up on a consistent basis.
I am getting the sense that they both will and that means great things for the 2019 Mets.
