Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Although he was not overly dominant, Max Scherzer was credited with the win in the Thursday afternoon Opening Day contest against the Miami Marlins.
Scherzer pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs to go along with four hits and two walks. He struck out six over the course of a conservative 91 pitches thrown, which is likely a product of the Mets being cautious with their pitchers early in this long season. Luckily for Scherzer, the Mets’ offense was able to support his cause by scoring five runs in a winning effort.
The first five innings of the game were dominated by Scherzer, which he only allowed one hit and no runs with four strikeouts. Consequently, the Marlins did all of their damage in Scherzer’s sixth and final inning of work. With a 3-0 lead to his name, Scherzer immediately allowed a sharp double to Marlins’ catcher Jacob Stallings. Despite retiring the next batter he faced, the newly acquired Luis Arraez drove in the Marlins’ first run of the game on a double in his debut with the team. While he struck out the subsequent batter, he then became the victim of a Garrett Cooper two-run home run, which tied the game at three. Scherzer was able to bounce back from this by striking out Jazz Chisholm Jr, and end off his performance with a quality start.
Although Scherzer exited the game with a tie, he was able to secure the win due to a timely two-run double from Mets’ leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo in the top of the seventh inning as well as a strong performance from the bullpen. Scherzer is 1-0 to begin the season with an ERA of 4.50.
In his postgame interview, Scherzer was quick to criticize the implementation of the new pitch clock and the rules associated with it: “I love the pace, I don’t like the clock.” Although Scherzer is known to work hastily on the mound, it seems that he does not like the hard timer as it forces pitchers to work with a less authentic pace.
All things considered, Scherzer was able to pitch well enough for the victory while adjusting to the new rules enforced by the league. Also, he seemed to work well with the newly obtained Omar Narvaez in their first regular season game as a battery. That said, it will certainly be interesting to see how Scherzer’s season develops as he begins to adapt to these new circumstances.
