Maybe it was the day off.
Maybe it was being at home.
Whatever it is, it felt different watching the Mets on Friday afternoon in their home opener. They received great pitching, and they drove in runs. It added up to a Mets’ 9-3 victory over the Miami Marlins at Citi Field.
It was a beautiful sight after the Milwaukee Brewers thoroughly outplayed the Mets this week by outhomering them 9-2 and outsourcing them 26-6.
The Mets needed a day like this just to erase the stink of what happened out in Milwaukee after completing a seven-game road trip that resulted in a 3-4 finish.
Maybe this was not a must-win game, but this was a must-have game. The fans have so far been frustrated with the Mets’ performance at the start of the season. They have complained about the lack of hitting, and they haven’t been happy with the starting pitching.
The Mets entered the game to a warm ovation for what was a feel-good 101-win season that resulted in a Wild-Card appearance. No one got booed in the home opener introductions for a change. The last thing they needed is to create negative energy during the game at home by playing as they did in the last three games.
Of course, Friday’s win didn’t get off to an easy start. The Mets stranded Brandon Nimmo on base in the first inning and left two men on base in the second when Daniel Vogelbach and Eduardo Escobar struck out followed by Tomas Nido grounding out to end the inning. This came after Marlins starter Edward Cabrera struggled with his control to start the second inning by being behind the count that had Jeff McNeil and Mark Canha got on base by walks.
This second inning offered inarguable proof that the Mets can be pitched around, given that they only have a few good hitters. Based on his lack of power numbers, Vogelbach has no business being a designated hitter. Meanwhile, Escobar’s off to a bad start, so much so that Mets fans want Brett Baty called up sooner rather than later. With Francisco Alvarez being called up after Omar Narvaez was sent to the injured list with a medium-to-high-grade strain that could last for two months, he needs to be catching every day just to get some punch in the lineup.
The lineup could use more guys able to drive runners in.
In the third inning, the Mets almost failed again after Nimmo, Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor loaded the bases by walks. After Pete Alonso and McNeil struck out - giving Cabrera two outs to work with - Canha was walked, making it a 1-0 lead for the home team. Then, Vogelbach got on base on an infield single that scored Starling Marte (extending the Mets lead to 2-0) and moved Francisco Lindor to third after the Marlins botched a play that could have ended the inning. Garrett Cooper had the ball, but Marlins reliever Huascar Brazoban, pitching in relief for Cabrera, failed to cover first base.
The third inning could well be considered the key to the game. Had the Mets not scored, it could have affected the rest of the game and festered enough to drain their self-confidence. Simply put, they can only have so many opportunities to score.
Cabrera was less than great from the get-go. He threw 30 pitches in the first inning and followed that up by throwing 20 in the second. He was so bad, in fact, that the Marlins wasted four of their mound visits in the first three innings - not good news when a team is only allowed five in the entire game. He finished the day by throwing 85 pitches in 2 ⅔ innings with seven walks to show for it.
If the Mets had lost this game because they couldn’t score against an ineffective pitcher, there would’ve been boo-birds all over Citi Field.
When Starling Marte made it a 4-0 Mets’ lead with his sixth-inning home run, the fans could finally enjoy the game knowing the home team had this all sewn up. From there, the bullpen took care of the rest.
Tylor Megill gave the Mets a much-needed quality start by throwing six shutout innings. He used his fastball, slider and changeup to ensure his effectiveness.
The Mets could use a starter able to step up. Justin Verlander has yet to pitch a game for the Mets, and at 40 years of age, who knows if he can maintain his mojo and have the same stuff that made him successful in his Hall of Fame career? Max Scherzer is coming off a hideous start against the Brewers after giving up back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning, and now he’s prone to giving up the long ball after he gave up four home runs in his first two starts.
Carlos Carrasco is your typical back-end starter that’ll supply the Mets good and bad starts. Meanwhile, Kodai Senga looked impressive in his major league debut against the Marlins, and the most one can say about David Peterson is that he’s been merely okay.
If the Mets hope to go as far as they can this year, they seriously need either Megill or Peterson to step up once the realization hits that some of the starters are question marks. Megill showed he’s got game when he was off to a good start last season prior to him being on the injured list. His upside and his last season’s performance make Mets manager Buck Showalter feel confident that the team has something in him.
A home opener win doesn’t cure most of the team’s ills. If anything, it exposes some of the team’s issues with that lineup.
Still, a win can calm the natives down for a day.
A win can get the Mets back on track in continuing their 162-game season journey.
A win can mean a good night's sleep for the Mets and some momentary peace of mind.
You can read Leslie's Jersey Sporting News columns on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
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