The Mets (0-4) entered Monday’s series opener against the Tigers (4-0) searching for what has been an elusive first win of the season. Sean Manaea was tasked with righting the ship, taking the mound against Reese Olson and the Tigers. Manaea did everything he could, but the Mets imploded in the 10th inning to secure their fourth straight loss to begin the season.

It was a classic pitcher’s duel for much of the game, with Manaea and Olson cruising without much trouble. Manaea was perfect through the first four innings and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth. Seeing Manaea navigate the Tigers’ lineup with ease was a pleasant sight after Mets starters allowed nine earned runs in 13 2/3 innings against the Brewers.

The first hit Manaea allowed appeared to be a devastating one at first, as Andy Ibáñez hit a two-out single with Jake Rogers on second base. Rogers was waved home by old friend Joey Cora, but Brandon Nimmo made a fantastic throw to gun him down at the plate and keep the Tigers scoreless.

That ended Manaea’s night and it was a wonderful debut for the southpaw. Through six innings he allowed just one hit and walked two while striking out eight. Those eight strikeouts tied Manaea’s season-high from just a year ago, so his outing was a resounding success.

The Mets’ bats, however, continued to struggle after a brutal opening series. Like Manaea, Olson had very little trouble. He allowed the first two Mets batters of the game to reach base via a hit-by-pitch and a walk, but he managed that situation marvelously and got into very little trouble the rest of the way. Ultimately, he left the game after 5 2/3 innings, and with both pitchers dominating the game, it was a 0-0 score entering the seventh inning.

Jorge López pitched a clean seventh inning before Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless eighth. Alex Faedo of the Tigers matched both of them with two scoreless innings, bringing the game into the ninth still scoreless. Edwin Díaz was tasked with pitching the ninth inning, and he put together a vintage performance by striking out two and inducing a weak pop-up out. That set the Mets up with an opportunity to walk the game off in the bottom of the inning, but like the first eight innings, they couldn’t muster any offense.

Michael Tonkin took the mound for the Mets to start extras, their first extra-inning game of 2024. With runners on first and third and one out, Joey Wendle mishandled a ground ball at second that probably wouldn’t have been a double play but would have surely recorded an out. Instead, no outs were recorded, and the Tigers drove across the first run of the game. Tonkin then tried to snatch a chopping ground ball that would have been a double play to end the inning, but the ball caromed off his glove and resulted in another play in which no outs were recorded.

With the bases loaded and one out, Javier Báez hit a sacrifice fly to center field, followed by a three-run homer from Carson Kelly to give the Tigers a seemingly insurmountable 5-0 lead. The Mets couldn’t even manage to drive the ghost runner home in the bottom of the inning, securing a disheartening loss while still searching for that first win of the season.

Statistic of the Game: Historic No-Hit Bid

Sean Manaea’s 5 2/3 inning no-hit bid was the longest by a Mets pitcher in their debut, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. He’s also the first Mets history to throw at least six innings, allow one or fewer hits, and strike out at least eight in their debut, per MMO’s Mike Mayer. It was a terrific first start of the season for Manaea, who could be poised for a big year out of the rotation should he continue to pitch this efficiently and effectively.

Player of the Game

Naturally, Manaea is the player of the game. Starling Marte gets a shoutout as he recorded two hits in what has been a strong start to the season, but Manaea singlehandedly did everything he could while the Mets’ bats stayed asleep.

On Deck

The Mets continue their series with the Tigers on Tuesday at Citi Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Adrian Houser makes his Mets and season debut, going up against Casey Mize, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022. The game will air on SNY.