Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets were handed their first shutout of the year by the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday afternoon, losing 10-0 in Carlos Carrasco‘s 2023 season debut.

The offense struggled and the pitching floundered, but there was one bright spot for the Mets: super utility man Luis Guillorme.

Guillorme received his first start at third base in 2023 on Monday, recording two singles in four at-bats, which were two of the Mets’ three hits against the Brewers. The other hit was a single by Daniel Vogelbach, as the Mets’ offense was quiet and did not record an extra-base hit against Freddy Peralta.

Along with making his 2023 debut at third, Guillorme also made his debut on the mound. Down 10-0 in the eighth inning, Buck Showalter turned to the defensive wizard for three outs. Guillorme dazzled in his pitching debut, recording three fly-ball outs. His only blemish was a single allowed to Rowdy Tellez.

Guillorme only needed one pitch to get through the top of the eighth inning. A slow fastball that ranged between 64-77 miles per hour. It averaged 69 mph. It got the job done, as Guillorme and Dennis Santana were the only Mets pitchers to record a scoreless outing. Along with putting up zeroes, Guillorme was the only pitcher in Monday’s matchup that did not walk a batter.

By the time Monday’s matchup was over, Guillorme demonstrated his value to the team. He provided the majority of the Mets’ offense, covered two positions defensively, and saved the Mets’ bullpen by pitching a scoreless top of the eighth.

However, lost in all the fanfare of Guillorme’s big day was the decision to start the utility infielder over Eduardo Escobar. The switch-hitter was relegated to the bench in the fifth game of the season due to his early struggles. While he walked in a pinch-hit at-bat on Monday, Escobar has one hit in 16 at-bats and is slashing a measly .063/.118/.063/.181 so far.

Escobar needs to get off to a hot start in 2023 in order to not get phased out due to Brett Baty‘s impressive spring. Guillorme starting over him is the first sign (we’ll see how the next week goes), but Baty’s domination of Triple-A pitching in 2023 might be a knockout punch. In 14 at-bats in Syracuse, Baty is batting .357 with two home runs and five RBI.