Welcome to Opening Day 2014! It’s time to start another New York Mets marathon as they begin their road to 90 wins. (Whatever, today’s an optimistic day).
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young Jr (2B)
- Juan Lagares (CF)
- David Wright (3B)
- Curtis Granderson (RF)
- Andrew Brown (LF)
- Ike Davis (1B)
- Travis d’Arnaud (C)
- Ruben Tejada (SS)
- Dillon Gee (P)
Mets Notes
Daniel Murphy is in Florida and not in today’s lineup so he could be with his wife who is in labor and will have the couples first child.
Chris Young has a right quad strain and is out of the lineup. He will be replaced by Andrew Brown. Terry Collins said Lucas Duda would have started in LF today had he not had a hamstring strain. About 4-5 Mets are battling the flu today according to the manager.
Collins also said that Ike Davis will play today, but expect Josh Satin on Wednesday and Duda on Thursday.
Collins on his bullpen: Carlos Torres, Scott Rice and Jose Valverde will all be the bridge to Bobby Parnell.
Finally, Collins said Jenrry Mejia both threw and saw team doctor yesterday in NYC and is good for Friday’s start vs. Reds.
Game Preview
Mets homegrown talent Dillon Gee gets the nod for Opening Day after an injury to Jon Niese. But with the way Dillon has pitched this Spring, it’s an honor he earned and deserves! He will match up against the Washington’s ace Stephen Strasburg.
Gee is coming off of a full 2013 campaign, starting 32 games and tossing 199.0 innings with a 12-11 record and a 3.62 ERA. Gee set career marks in BB/9 and SO/9. He pitched against the Nationals a whopping 6 times last year with a 4-2 record and a 2.72 ERA over 39.2 innings, with 27 strikeouts and 8 walks. The Nationals have the following numbers against Gee:
- Werth 11-34, 3 2B, HR, .324 BA
- Desmond 7-32, 3 HR, .219 BA
- Zimmerman 6-29, 2B, .207 BA
- LaRoche 4-23, 2B, HR, .174 BA
- Espinosa 1-13, 3 K
The Mets bats will get another crack at a familiar foe in Strasburg who is coming off of a mostly full season with 30 starts and 183.0 innings of work with a 3.00 ERA and a 8-9 record. Surprisingly he only faced the Mets once last year picking up the loss after allowing 2 earned runs, four total over 6 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Stephen:
- Davis 4-11, 2 HR, 4 K
- Tejada 1-11, 4 K
- Wright 1-9, 4 K
- Duda 1-4, HR
- Chris Young 1-3
Let’s Go Mets! Open the Season Strong!
Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elliot and I’ve been writing the Game Preview posts at MMO since 2008! I’ve come out of a long winter hibernation and am excited to be back sharing thoughts with you. When I’m not watching the Mets, I’m a Physics Teacher in Newark, NJ and writing about the Mets at 213 Miles From Shea. LGM!
