Mets Opening Day: Brandon Nimmo leads charge, bullpen locks in late for win
MIAMI — Opening Day is usually reserved for unbridled enthusiasm, but that took a turn for the Mets before first pitch with the news that Justin Verlander was headed for the disabled list.
Mets fans needed a little morale boost. The team delivered it in the form of a 5-3 victory over the Marlins in front of 31,397 fans on Thursday afternoon at loanDepot park.
It began with Max Scherzer, who matched and nearly outdueled fellow Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara across six innings.
After Scherzer scuffled and allowed three runs in the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Nimmo picked him up with a two-run double that lifted the Mets to their first win of the season.
The bullpen did its part to shut the door. David Robertson received the first save opportunity in Edwin Diaz’s absence with a perfect 1-2-3 inning. Drew Smith worked around a leadoff double and picked up two strikeouts in the seventh. Brooks Raley was perfect in the eighth.
Brandon Nimmo earning his keep early on
The price tag served as a barometer of the ultimate trust between the Mets and Nimmo during the offseason.
The front office committed $162 million over eight years to their starting center fielder because of the effort he puts in on and off the field.
It didn't take long for Nimmo to fulfill his end of the bargain. On Opening Day, Nimmo delivered the biggest blow after the Marlins had evened the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
With two runners on, Nimmo laced a low slider from Tanner Scott into center field for a two-run double that put the Mets back in front.
"For me, it was exciting to get back out there. It felt like a home game," Nimmo said. "There was a lot of ‘Let’s Go Mets’ chants, and the 7 Line showed up in full force, so it was awesome. It was really awesome just to get back out there and get in front of fans."
Nimmo had also drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the third inning off Alcantara and came across to score in the top of the sixth.
Max Scherzer's one tough inning
Through five innings, Scherzer was winning the duel of Cy Young Award winners convincingly.
The two-time winner only allowed one hitter above the minimum in the first five frames, inducing a double play after Luis Arraez cracked a leadoff single and picking up one more double play to cancel out a walk in the fifth.
But things took a turn in the sixth inning as Scherzer left a trio of fastballs over the middle. Jacob Stallings and Arraez each knocked doubles to plate the Marlins' first run and Garrett Cooper tied the game with a two-run home run to right-center field.
"Unfortunately, I made some mistakes there in the sixth," Scherzer said. "I put myself in a position to be as strong as possible to finish that game strong. Unfortunately, they got a couple of hits and I didn’t finish the game strong. It’s just part of the game. I’ll continue to move forward and just make sure that you’re physically right and I’m physically right."
Scherzer's final inning provided the lone marks on his ledger. The Mets ace finished with six innings pitched, six strikeouts and the three earned runs allowed on four hits and two walks.
Playing by the new rules against Sandy Alcantara
The pitchers and batters are not the only ones subject to the new pitch clock.
Apparently, the baserunners need to be aware as well. It was an interesting lesson learned for the Mets during the top of the sixth inning against Alcantara.
Pete Alonso took too long to return to first between pitches and Jeff McNeil was charged with the second strike of his at-bat. But the reigning National League batting champion shot another pitch up the middle for an RBI single to boost the Mets in front 3-0.
"I’m getting two or three different stories," Showalter said. "My first one was that Pete was too slow getting back to first, but he told Pete something different when he got to third. We’re going to try to decipher what exactly happened."
It could have been a costly strike call, but McNeil used it as motivation to strike despite an unclear call.
Excitement turns to apprehension as Justin Verlander lands on injured list
Before the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day could completely take hold, the mood soured before the Mets took the field for batting practice as Verlander was placed on the injured list with a low grade teres major strain.
The injury will force Verlander to miss his first start on Saturday in Miami and the Mets' home opener against the Marlins on March 6. Billy Eppler announced that Tylor Megill is expected to fill in Verlander's spot in the rotation.
Verlander said he experienced some lingering discomfort in the area near his armpit following his last spring training start on March 26 but chalked it up to general soreness from stretching out. After feeling continued following his bullpen session on Wednesday, he went for imaging which revealed the strain.
The Mets ace will try to stay stretched out as he continues throwing at moderate intensity. He will get additional imaging next week.
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Jose Quintana returns to clubhouse after rib surgery
The wait was one of the toughest part for Jose Quintana.
While initial imaging revealed that Quintana had a stress reaction in his fifth rib on his left side, it also revealed a lesion in that spot that required further testing. The left-hander waited for those results before telling his family.
Those tests came back that the lesion was benign but Quintana elected to have bone graft surgery to strengthen that area.
"As soon as I heard (about the stress reaction), I said, ‘Well, we need to fix it,’ but after I got the news that it was something weak with my bone, that’s when I felt a little scared because I was worried about life," Quintana said. "As soon as we found what was there and it was fixed after surgery, I took time and thought, 'I’m healthy, now I feel way better and it’s time to start my process in baseball.'"
Quintana returned to the Mets clubhouse in time for Opening Day on Thursday in Miami. He will begin workouts this week as he rehabs in New York. Quintana expects to return to the mound this season; the initial prognosis was a July return at the earliest.
"I’m really happy and glad to be back and see all my teammates," Quintana said. "I start to feel way better.