Just how they drew it up: Mets offense breaks out in Miami

David Peterson strikes out nine in his season debut. Plus, New York's offense breaks out after a slow start to the season.

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾

• The Mets crushed the Marlins in their first meeting of the season, beating Miami by a 10-4 score (box | highlights)

• 1B Pete Alonso had the biggest blow for the offense, going 2-for-4 with a grand slam (1), a walk and a run scored

• Alonso now has 227 career home runs, 25 shy of tying Darryl Strawberry for the club’s all-time record

• LHP David Peterson was very solid in his first start of the season, allowing two runs, five hits and three walks with nine strikeouts over six innings

• DH Starling Marte hit leadoff in the place of Francisco Lindor – who sat out the game after the birth of his son – and went 1-for-2 with a home run (1), a hit-by-pitch and two runs scored

• LF Brandon Nimmo and C Luis Torrens each clubbed their first home runs of the season in the victory

• RF Juan Soto went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, giving him a 1.115 OPS over his first four games this year

• After scoring five runs with just one home run over their first three games of the year, the Mets offense broke out with 10 runs and four homers in Monday’s win

• Every player in the Mets starting lineup recorded at least one hit last night

• Prior to allowing two runs in the 9th, New York’s bullpen had thrown 12.1 scoreless innings to start the season – one out short of tying them for the longest streak to start a season in franchise history (2007)

• The Mets announced that LF Alexander Canario has been traded to the Pirates after placing him on waivers last week

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Roster Moves 📰

• LF Alexander Canario traded to the Pirates for cash considerations

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Play of the Game ⭐

After a paltry first series of the season where the offense scored just five total runs, the Mets were in dire need of a big hit on Monday night. After Juan Soto worked a walk to load the bases with nobody out in the 5th inning of a 2-1 game, Pete Alonso stepped up and delivered that very moment.

Working a long at-bat of his own, Pete clubbed a ball the other way for his first home run of the season – a grand slam – to break the game open. It was the first time in the early season that the Mets had one of those “blow the lid off” hits and may have relaxed the rest of the club, who continued their hot hitting for the rest of the night.

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Today’s Game 🗓️

Match-up: Mets (2-2) at Marlins (3-2)

Where: loanDepot Park — Miami, FL

Starters: RHP Kodai Senga vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (0-0, 3.86 ERA)

When: 6:40 PM ET

Where to Watch: SNY

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Now THAT is the Mets offense we expected… ✍️

Despite the fact that last night was only the Mets’ fourth game of the season, I think it’s okay to admit that people were already feeling a little concerned about the Mets’ offense.

I, for one, was not one of those people. After the club scored just five runs over their first series of the season (an average of 1.6 runs per game) with just one home run, I wasn’t worried – I was frustrated. It may only be the first couple of games of a gruelingly long season, but nobody wants to start the season that way. Especially when you look across the league and see the gaudy numbers other teams are putting up around the league.

[Insert snide torpedo bat joke here]

Add the fact that the Mets offense had started the season 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position on top of all of that and yeah, you can probably see why people were starting to get antsy so early on.

Those same people who were worried and/or frustrated with the offense after the opening series flop in Houston were likely starting to feel that same way early on last night. Entering the 5th inning, the bats had been similarly quiet to start out their series in Miami as the Mets found themselves locked into a 1-1 score with the Marlins.

In need of a big hit in order to get the proverbial dam to burst, the Mets offense finally delivered.

After Jose Siri hit an absolute rope to deep right-center field for a double to give New York the lead, the Mets kept the pressure on Cal Quantrill and the Marlins by loading the bases with nobody out and Pete Alonso coming up to the dish. This had to be the moment where this offense finally came to life – and boy did they.

On a 3-2 count after fouling off a tough pitch, fans got to witness a vintage Alonso moment as the first baseman drove a ball to the opposite field and over the wall for his first home run of the season – a grand slam. Not only was this finally the big moment that this lineup desperately needed in this game, but it seemed as if it allowed everyone else to relax at the dish and just do what they were expected to do.

If the home run and five runs scored weren’t enough, the Mets would keep pouring on as Luis Torrens torched a ball to deep center that hilariously bounced off of the center fielder’s glove and bounced over the wall for a two-run homer, giving the Mets a comfortable 8-1 lead and a seven-run inning.

For good measure, Brandon Nimmo added on for even more in the very next inning with his first home run of the year, a two-run shot to give the Mets a 10-1 lead.

All in all, it was a dominant night for a Mets offense that sorely needed to see some crooked numbers. After averaging just 1.6 runs per game in Houston with just one long ball, New York scored 10 runs on 11 hits with four home runs on Monday night in Miami, and they managed to do it all without Francisco Lindor taking a single plate appearance.

Three and a half games into their season, I’m all but certain that the Mets hitters were not concerned with their slow start at the plate. But for Mets fans whose baseline is constant anxiety, hopefully a performance like last night will allow everyone to relax a bit. Even if it’s only for one day.

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Around the League 🚩

• Braves OF Jurickson Profar was suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball’s PED policy – Profar will not be paid during his suspension and is not eligible to play in the postseason

• Things got even worse for the Braves later on Monday night as they fell to 0-5 after losing to the Dodgers in LA

• Dodgers 1B Freddie Freeman is day-to-day after injuring his ankle in a “shower mishap”

• Red SS Elly De La Cruz had his first monster game of the season, racking up four hits with a pair of home runs and 7 RBI in the club’s 14-3 win vs. the Rangers

• Red Sox DH Rafael Devers set the major league record for most strikeouts over a team’s first five games with 15 as Boston lost to the Orioles, 8-5

• The Red Sox and LHP Garrett Crochet reportedly agreed to a six-year, $170 million contract extension with an opt-out after 2030 (ESPN)