Highlights and other observations from last night's Met loss

Highlights:

• Alex Cora is having a great start to the year while Jose Reyes recovers. Not that you would want him to be the starter all year long, but his play is certainly making Mets officials feel smart for taking the extra-cautious route with Reyes. Last night he tripled to lead off the game and scored on a Luis Castillo sac fly. Will we soon be hearing cries of “Alex Cora is the most exciting player in the game!” or chants of “Alex, Alex, Alex, Alex, Allllex, Allexxx!?” Probably not, but this is what a good backup does.

Lowlights:

• Jenrry Mejia did not have a great debut, allowing three hits (one a double) and a run. Certainly jitters could have played a part, but there is a feeling among some that Mejia was rushed to the majors because of the bullpen problems, and his work will be something to keep a close eye on.

Something in between:

• Mike Jacobs has not had the best start to his season and last night’s 1-for-5 was no exception, but he did have a key hit in the Mets eighth inning rally, so perhaps that’s a sign of something good. Interestingly enough, the hit was a single and not a home run. Yes, Mike Jacobs can get hits without sending the ball out of the park.
• Speaking of oddities, Jeff Francoeur walked in last night’s game. I’m just going to leave that sentence alone and let you think about that.
• John Maine wasn’t great, but he wasn’t awful either. Eight hits and two homers is nothing to be proud of, but he was healthy for five innings and didn’t have a “big” inning.