Mets bats silenced as they drop season opener to the Astros
The Mets struggled offensively and Clay Holmes was up and down on Opening Day
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets opened the 2025 season with a 3-1 loss to the Astros in Houston (Box)
RHP Clay Holmes was erratic to start the year. He walked four in 4.2 innings and gave up three runs two of which were earned. His final line was 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
RHP Huascar Brazobán kept Houston off the board in 2.1 innings of work
RF Juan Soto got a hit in his first at bat in a Mets uniform but struck out to end the game with the tying runs on base
SS Francisco Lindor went 0-for-4 with a RBI and a K
The Mets went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten runners on-base
The Mets are now 41-15 on Opening Day since 1970, still the best Opening Day in Major League Baseball
Roster Moves 📰
Placed RHP Frankie Montas on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Right lat strain
Placed C Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Hamate fracture
Placed LHP Sean Manaea on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Right oblique strain
Placed SS Ronny Mauricio on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Right ACL rehab
Placed 2B Jeff McNeil on the 10-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Right oblique strain
Placed RHP Paul Blackburn on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 24, 2025. Right knee inflammation
Selected the contract of C Hayden Senger from the Syracuse Mets
Designated LF José Azocar for assignment
Designated LF Alexander Canario for assignment
Traded RHP Sean Harney to the St. Louis Cardinals
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Paul Blackburn (knee inflammation) is in a 7-10 day rest period, and is not expected to need an extended rehab period
INF Jeff McNeil (mild oblique strain) is expected to resume baseball activities soon
C Francisco Álvarez (surgery for fractured hamate bone) had his stitches removed recently, and could return to the Mets in late April
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (0-1) vs Astros (1-0)
Where: Daikin Park • Houston, TX
Starters: RHP Tylor Megill (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Brown (0-0, 0. ERA)
When: 8:10 PM ET
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Mets open the year with a sad trombone, but there were some positives… ✍️
So, that could have gone better.
Newly acquired Clay Holmes was shaky after getting the Opening Day honors. Luisangel Acuña made an error that led to a run. Luis Torrens got picked off second base with Juan Soto up at bat, and then Soto himself struck out with the tying runs on base to end the game. They literally didn’t hit a lick with runners in scoring position. It was all in all a damp squib of a game since the offense could not get much going against Houston starter Framber Valdez, who was great and did what an ace is supposed to do.
Not exactly the crisp start the Mets wanted on Opening Day. Of course, they were in this same spot last year and it all turned out fine. In fact, last year’s 3-1 loss can be argued felt a lot worse than this one. They were without their ace in Kodai Senga, so Jose Quintana got the start, and the rest of the rotation was very much a question mark at the time. There were bitter feelings after the game due to Rhys Hoskins and Jeff McNeil getting into it over a late slide. And the Mets ended up starting out 0-5.
It was not a happy time.
While the Holmes experiment did not offer any definitive conclusions after Game One, there are far fewer questions facing this team than last year’s squad, even with all of the injuries at the jump. Senga is healthy. Sean Manaea returned to the team and is far more established as a top of the rotation starter, and David Peterson finally put it all together at the major league level.
After Holmes exited the game, Huascar Brazobán and Danny Young both pitched very well, and the bullpen as a whole had the potential to be one of the team’s strengths this season.
While the offense struggled in spring training and they got shut down to open the season, this team should hit plenty throughout the year with the addition of their new superstar. Acuña’s day got off to a miserable start, but he did manage to work a tough at-bat that eventually led to a walk against Josh Hader in the ninth.
So the Mets won’t go 162-0 this season unfortunately but as they proved last year this is a resilient bunch led by the calming influence of Carlos Mendoza. It’s just one loss and there will probably be about 70 more this season. The 2025 squad needs to figure out how to rebound from it and not let things spiral which happened to last year’s squad early on in the season.
Around the League 🚩
After almost getting traded in the offseason, Alec Bohm got the go-ahead hit for the Phillies in their 7-3 win over the Nationals
Nationals starter LHP MacKenzie Gore set a franchise season-opener record with thirteen strikeouts
Miami ace Sandy Alcantara looked good in his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the Marlins’ 5-4 walk-off win
Orioles OF Tyler O’Neill hit a home run in his sixth straight Opening Day which extended his own record
The Giants started the year with a new left fielder for the nineteenth straight season
A bump on the road to October
Clay was muscling it up there a little, but after the game he seemed to have a really good handle on where he got off track. He's a very intelligent dude. He'll be fine.
So will Juan. It's hilarious to see people freaking about that last AB, but that was a heck of a slider from Hader. It was the only really good one he threw that entire appearance. And with Soto sitting dead red, it was a great pitch.