Tylor Megill did his best Jacob deGrom imitation, hurling five shutout innings to get the Mets back on track with their amazing Opening Day record, as the Mets downed the Nationals, 5-1, Thursday night in Washington D.C.
Megill hit 99 mph with his fastball and didn’t seem fazed at all with the Opening Day start. He pitched out of trouble in one inning but otherwise looked in complete control. It seemed like he was going to come out for the sixth inning but a long top half of the inning put that idea to bed.
Buck Showalter used all of his best relievers in the four-run victory, which seemed odd with no off day on Friday, like you usually have early in the season.
The Mets pounded out 12 hits, 10 of which were singles. But they got hits with RISP, which was such a problem for them last season. Four players had two hits apiece, including Mark Canha and Jeff McNeil in the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup.
The only bad thing in the victory was the fact that the Mets were hit by pitches three times, with two of those being in the area near the head. James McCann was hit twice and Pete Alonso was drilled in the ninth inning and had to leave the game. But he came back to the dugout in the bottom of the ninth, holding ice to his lip.
Gut Reaction: Megill stepped up and was impressive to say the least. Each starter delivered a least one hit , if you include the two hits McCann received from the Nats pitchers. I too was surprised that Lugo and Diaz pitched. Opening day wins feel good but I would like season finale win in November.
Gut reactions:
1. Megill was dominant… pure gas.
2. if Trevor May is considered among Mets “best” bullpen options, they’re in trouble. He’s the new Familia.
3. Pete Alonso has trouble staying on his feet. Guy was dead at first.
4. Pete was probably safe at the plate… very few angles shown on replay.
5. GRK do not watch the game as closely as they could… the throw from Lindor did not hit the runner, and they never acknowledged that. Pete just muffed the throw. I thought Keith would have said something, at least.
6. Good start from the offense… McNeil and Cano had nice games.
7. Lindor… uh oh… looked awful… just sayin’.
8. Ottavino looked better than I thought.
Nice start!
While enjoying the win, noticing that the Nationals are terrible and we cannot take a fair barometer of the Mets off this series. Still, 3 out of 4 is important.
The defense surprised me with McNeil out there, but it worked out. Tonight, Smith should be playing…
Gary is wonderful & also annoying at times.
He was arguing that the Mets should PH for Davis w/ Smith in the 5th inning and no one really intelligently refuted the idea. Whereas I’d say:
1) They actually have reverse splits, and JD is solid vs. RHP and proven in that specific matchup;
2) Terrible message to JD to pull him in first important AB of the season;
3) If you make that move in 5th, it limits your options when (and if) the game is late and close.
In the end, I don’t think the advantage to that move was clear at all, and it’s not time to manage as if it’s the 7th game of the WS.
Gary is trying to think through the possibilities of the “new game” with a DH. But I think it’s just over-managing. Let these guys play without looking over their shoulders.
The relievers hadn’t thrown in a couple of days so getting them up for an inning was probably very welcome for all of them. That balance between being rested, being stale, and staying sharp. Buck knows what he’s doing.
Just like they drew it up. Safest bet in all of sports is an opening day win for the Mets. Excited to see Max tonight. Guessing the lineup is:
Nimmo
Marte
Lindor
Alonso
Smith (dh)
Escobar
Canha
McNeil
Nido
I like that.
If any ill-effects for Pete, could give him the DH spot as a “rest” rather than a precedent.
On Cano, I think about Ricky Henderson, 1999, expertly managed by BV. Lot of rest, lot of matchups, putting him in the best position to succeed: maximum results.
Could be that Buck goes with Cano over Dom for another day. This is going to take some time to sort out and I am not going to over-react to lineups the first 30 games of the season. Davis could surely play again tonight, too; he looked good yesterday, hit two balls hard and walked.
I wonder how many Mets opening-day starters have pitched at least 5 innings, given up 0 runs, struck out at least a batter an inning, and not walked anyone? Megill was megnificent!
I’m not sure Alonso will ever win that gold glove he dreams about.
Cano surprised me with his hitting. He and Davis will get at bats at DH. Loved that bunt against the shift.
Haven’t seen Canha play before. Liked what he showed in at least this game!
Love JP’s comments high above this one. Such a reasonable approach that one would think the pro baseball people like Gary Cohen should already have. Would have been terrible to pull JD in the fifth, for all the reasons that JP perfectly stated.
My beef with Gary is that he often talks too much. He should take a page from the Red Barber playbook… sometimes you let the game just “sink in” to the minds of the viewers… he needs an ego shrink. Neither Ron nor Keith have that problem. Gary never got over being the smartest guy in the room.