Happy Opening Day, Met fans!
New York put a win in the books in the first game of the season, 5-1, on Thursday evening against the Nationals in Washington D.C. The win was highlighted by a stellar outing from Tylor Megill, a replacement starter for injured ace Jacob deGrom, who had a career outing that inspired hope for his future value with the team. Four men out of the bullpen allowed just one run, and the offense notched five runs on 12 hits. New York has won 40 of the last 53 season openers for the best streak in baseball since 1970.
Pitching
Megill got the start on Opening Day and delivered a strong outing that exceeded expectations. He allowed just three hits through five scoreless innings and recorded six strikeouts, with 68 pitches thrown — 47 for strikes. Megill keeps the streak alive, as a Mets Opening Day starting pitcher hasn’t allowed a run since Noah Syndergaard in 2018. DeGrom has allowed zero over the last three seasons.
In an impressive first inning for the 26-year-old, Megill started his night with his 100th career strikeout, which came on a 99.1mph fastball, the hardest pitch of his career. He is the seventh Mets pitcher to begin his career in New York by recording 100 or more strikeouts in his first 19 career starts with the club. Megill’s fine-tuned mechanics were on display as his fastball consistently clocked from 97-99mph through his outing for a significant increase in velocity from his average 95mph mark in the 2021 season.
Megill’s first hit allowed was a double off the right field wall by Keibert Ruiz in the second inning. Lane Thomas then reached on a throwing error by Francisco Lindor, but Megill kept the club out of trouble by inducing a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
In the third, the right-hander escaped a one-out jam with runners on the corners by fanning last year’s National League MVP runner-up, Juan Soto, with a huge 98-mph strikeout, followed by a groundout induced to Nelson Cruz. Megill retired his final eight consecutive batters to conclude his evening.
Trevor May took over in relief in the sixth and allowed a one-out solo home run to Soto to put the Nationals on the board for the first time in 2022. May allowed two additional base hits, but avoided any further damage.
Adam Ottavino and Seth Lugo both tossed a scoreless inning in relief. Ottavino (2) and Lugo (1) combined for three strikeouts. Edwin Diaz closed out the evening with a scoreless ninth, including one walk and one punch-out, in a non-save situation.
Hitting
At the plate, New York kicked off the season with a Starling Marte leadoff single in the first. In the fourth, Pete Alonso knocked a two-out base hit and Eduardo Escobar followed with a double that almost scored Alonso, but the first baseman was gunned down at the plate and called out to end the frame despite the Mets’ challenge on the play.
The Mets got on the board with two runs scored in the fifth. Robinson Cano led off the inning with a bunt against the shift for a single. It was his 20th opening day hit to tie with Albert Pujols for the most among active players. Mark Canha walked, and Jeff McNeil singled to load the bases. With no outs, James McCann was hit by a pitch to score the club’s first run of the season. Marte grounded into a force-out to drive in Canha and make it 2-0, and J.D. Davis grounded into a double-play to close the inning.
The Mets picked up another pair of runs in the following inning after Alonso notched a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Cano walked, and Canha and McNeil knocked a pair of two-out RBI base hits to extend the lead. The club scored its final run in the seventh on a Lindor RBI single that drove in J.D. Davis, who reached with a double.
In his return from suspension, Cano reached based in three-of-four at bats on Thursday night. Alonso went 2-for-4 with a run scored. The team as a whole went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left ten on base.
The Mets banged out 12 hits, and the 6-7-8 hitters of the lineup combined to knock 4-of-12 for the club and drove in 3-of-5 runs — a testament to the lineup’s depth.
Player of the Game
Tylor Megill earns Thursday’s honor with five innings pitched, no runs allowed on three hits, and six strikeouts. He is one of only three Met pitchers, along with Syndergaard in 2017, and Tom Seaver in 1972, to have tossed five plus scoreless innings on Opening Day without issuing a walk. A career night for Megill, Met fans can look forward to continued value the starter will bring to the club in 2022.
On Deck
The Mets will play the second of the four-game series in Washington D.C. on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET. RHP Max Scherzer will make his first regular-season start as a Met and face off with RHP Josiah Gray at Nationals Park. Scherzer recorded a 2.46 ERA last season through 179 1/3 innings in 2021, with 236 strikeouts and a 0.86 WHIP. Gray had a 5.48 ERA through 70 2/3 innings pitched in his debut season last year. Fans can catch the game on Apple TV+, and WCBS 880.
