Hope springs eternal and another season began for the New York Mets on Thursday as they took on the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. It was a battle of Cy Young winners as Max Scherzer took on the reigning award winner in Sandy Alcantara.
Even with both aces on the mound, the game ultimately came down to a battle of the bullpens and thanks to clutch double by Brandon Nimmo, the Mets were able to pick up a 5-3 victory to begin 2023 on a great note.
The Mets first run of the game came in the top of the third. Daniel Vogelbach led off the inning with a four-pitch walk. Two batters later, Omar Narváez would pick up the first Met hit of the season with a single to right. With runners on the corners and one out, Brandon Nimmo drove in the first run of the season on a sacrifice fly to left. While Narváez was caught in a rundown between first and second, New York took a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth, the Mets added on two more runs against Alcántara. With one out, Nimmo drew a walk and Starling Marte singled to center and advanced to second on an error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. Francisco Lindor would end up driving in Nimmo on a sac fly of his own to make the score 2-0.
Later in the inning, Pete Alonso drew a walk to give Jeff McNeil an RBI chance. Despite McNeil picking up an automatic strike during his at-bat, the second baseman was able to single up the middle to extend the lead to 3-0.
After an automatic strike was called, Jeff McNeil poked one up the middle anyway for a clutch RBI single.
Sandy Alcántara’s day is over after 5.2 innings. pic.twitter.com/ZDU6wTuQz4
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 30, 2023
That would end Alcántara’s day as he went 5.2 innings, allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits, walked four, and struck out two on 96 pitches (57 strikes) in what ended up being a no-decision. The four walks he allowed were the most he has allowed in an outing since May 1, 2022.
Scherzer was helped by his defense as the Mets turned two key double plays in the first four innings. In the first, the Arráez single was quickly erased by a Jean Segura 1-6-3 double play. Then, in the fourth, Garrett Cooper hit into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play that was started by a nice play from Lindor.
Another double play to help Max Scherzer get through his fourth scoreless frame of work. pic.twitter.com/zml3MXDBTo
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 30, 2023
Miami did find a way to get to Scherzer in the sixth. Jacob Stallings led off the frame with a double to left center. Two batters later, Arráez picked up a double of his own. His second hit of the game drove in Stallings to cut the Mets lead to 3-1. Cooper would end up erasing the lead with a two-run home run to right center with two outs that tied the game at three.
Overall, Scherzer had a solid outing, but the sixth prevented it from being a great one. The right-hander went six innings, allowed three run on four hits, walked two, and struck out six on 92 pitches (64 strikes) in the win. Out of the 22 batters that he faced, 18 of them saw a first-pitch strike.
It wouldn’t take long for the Mets to take back the lead. With Tanner Scott in the game, Escobar drove a single and Narváez walked. That paved the way for Brandon Nimmo to be the hero as he hit a two- run double to center. Due to the ball getting past Chisholm Jr., it allowed both Escobar and Narváez to score and put the Mets in front, 5-3.
And the Mets are back in the lead! Brandon Nimmo hits a two-run double and now has three RBIs on the day. pic.twitter.com/fovVavcjZ5
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) March 30, 2023
Overall, Nimmo drove in three runs and became the first Met to drive in three runs on Opening Day since 2018.
In addition to Nimmo’s success on offense, Marte and McNeil each had a pair of hits in the victory.
After Scherzer left the game, Drew Smith came in and threw a scoreless seventh inning. He allowed one hit and struck out two on 19 pitches (10 strikes) as he got the win.
Brooks Raley made his Mets debut in the eighth and ended up shutting the Marlins offense down. He threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning and struck out two on 12 pitches (9 strikes).
David Robertson got the first save opportunity of the year and struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning of his own on 16 pitches (9 strikes).
Player Of The Game
Brandon Nimmo gets the first Player of the Game for the 2023 season. Not only did Nimmo drive in three runs, but he put up solid at-bats all game long. In the third, he got ahead of Alcántara 2-0 in the count and was able to take a sinker on the outer half to left for the sacrifice fly.
Nimmo would draw a four-pitch walk in the fifth. Then, in the seventh against a left-hander in Scott, the Mets center fielder got a slider that was at the lower half of the zone and drove it into center for the game-winning hit.
On Deck
The Mets and Marlins will be back in action in the second game of their four-game series on Friday night. You can catch the game at 6:40 p.m ET on SNY or MLB Network. It will be a battle of southpaws as David Peterson goes for the Mets against Jesus Luzardo for the Marlins.
Nimmo, Bullpen Lead Mets to 5-3 Opening Day Win - metsmerizedonline.com
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