Mets one-hit as tempers flare on Opening Day
New York's offense goes silent in a rare Opening Day loss. Plus, breaking down everything that happened in a disappointing first game.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were one-hit in a 3-1 loss to the Brewers on Opening Day (box)
LHP José Quintana had a sluggish first start, allowing two earned runs on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings pitched
RF Starling Marte recorded the club’s lone hit, clubbing a solo home run (1) in the bottom of the 2nd inning
Other than Marte, the rest of the Mets lineup combined to go 0-for-24 with one walk and 10 strikeouts on the day
The benches cleared in the top of the 8th after Jeff McNeil and Brewers 1B Rhys Hoskins got into it following a late slide
Friday’s loss marked the first time in franchise history that the Mets were one-hit on Opening Day
New York is now 41-22 all-time on Opening Day, losing for the first time since the 2021 season
Roster Moves 🗞️
RHP Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder impingement) placed on the injured list
Prospect Watch 🔎
OF Drew Gilbert (No. 2 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-4, HR (1)
SS Luisangel Acuña (No. 3 prospect, Triple-A): 1-for-5, HR (1)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (0-1) vs. Brewers (1-0)
Where: Citi Field – Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Luis Severino vs LHP DL Hall
When: 1:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network
A rare disappointing Opening Day, but it only counts as one… 📝
Since the spring of 1970, Opening Day has often been one of the brightest for the New York Mets. After losing their first eight as a franchise, the Mets had gone an absurd 41-13 in their last 54 Opening Day games going into Friday afternoon.
That’s what made the 2024 season opener such a rare one for this team — because they lost.
After a day of ceremony, pomp and circumstance it was a largely sleepy introduction to this year’s version of the club. New York’s offense mustered just a single hit on the day, the first time they’ve ever been one-hit on Opening Day. The only signs of life the entire afternoon was a brief dust-up between the perpetually butthurt Rhys Hoskins and Jeff McNeil following a late slide into second base by the former Phillie. This wasn’t the first time Hoskins has taken on the Mets, as he’s best known around these parts for his vendetta against Jacob Rhame back in 2019 where he pimped an extra long home run trot after a hit-by-pitch controversy.
Any life that was breathed into the Mets from that moment, however, was quite short-lived. Despite six more at-bats following the heated moment, New York’s offense continued to scuffle and went down in order to end the game.
While it was an ultimately disappointing Opening Day in several ways — José Quintana was not great, the Mets offense was blacked out, and the team was incapable of backing up their fighting words — it’s important to remember one thing… it still only counts as one loss.
Look, I get it. It’s annoying to lose on Opening Day, and it’s even more frustrating when it happens so meekly. The struggles seem even more dramatic when eight of nine guys are batting zero and your first impression of a team is such a negative one. But there are still 161 more of these things, with plenty of time for the 2024 Mets to tell us who they actually are.
Plus, the Mets are widely known for their incredible success on Opening Day and not-so-great results that come afterwards, so they might as well try something new this year, right?
It goes without saying that if the Mets lineup struggles for an extended period of time, the ceiling of the club dramatically lowers. Their offense will be relied upon more than any other unit of this club with the pitching staff being constructed the way it currently is. That’s not exactly breaking news. But one poor offensive performance on a cold and windy day does not determine what a lineup is going to do over the course of a full season, and the club was also without their cleanup hitter in J.D. Martínez who is still likely nine days or so away from joining the big league team.
One could argue that an entire team’s success sitting on the shoulders of one 36-year-old designated hitter but again… it’s one game.
Let’s not panic just yet. And hey… at least the bullpen looked good.
Onto the next one.
Around the League 🚩
The Phillies let a late lead slip away as they allowed seven runs to the Braves in the 8th inning of a 9-3 loss
The Braves are expected to place C Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain
Rays 2B Brandon Lowe clubbed a grand slam to lead the club to their first win of the year defeating the Blue Jays, 8-2
The Yankees came from behind once again to defeat the Astros, this time by a 7-1 score