Expect the unexpected from these Mets (and an Opening Day 'W')
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, front, and Washington Nationals' Alcides Escobar look on after Alonso tried to tag out Escobar at first base on a pickoff attempt from catcher James McCann, not visible, during the third inning of an opening day baseball game at Nationals Park, Thursday, April 7, 2022, in Washington. Escobar was called out, but the call was reverted to safe after an umpires review. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Credit: Alex Brandon
WASHINGTON
Just in case anyone forgot during a long, strange winter, Opening Night 2022 reminded us of the one eternal truth involving the Mets, regardless of owner, manager or roster composition.
Expect the unexpected.
Unless, of course, we’re talking about the final score.
That came to its (mostly) predictable conclusion Thursday night, with the Mets prevailing, 5-1, over a depleted Nationals team that has an MVP favorite in Juan Soto and not much else to watch (the ballpark was half-empty by the fifth inning). The Mets improved their Opening Day winning percentage to .656 (40-21) — and two of those losses kicked off championship seasons in 1969 and 1986.
The path to Thursday’s win, however, was best defined as productive chaos. This year’s group couldn’t even get to the lineup card without undoing most of what we thought we learned in spring training.
Tylor Megill starting on the mound at Nationals Park rather than Triple-A Syracuse? Sure. Robinson Cano at second base? Check. Mark Canha, mostly a corner outfielder, starting in center? Why not. Jeff McNeil in left? Starling Marte in right?
Buck Showalter, as always, had his reasons. Of course, the domino to it all was Brandon Nimmo’s lingering neck injury, and once he was a no-go for the opener, Showalter got to put on his lab coat. And for those of us who’ve known him for a while — yours truly, going on a quarter-century — he derives a tiny bit of glee from tweaking the conventional wisdom.
“We’ve got some guys capable of playing different places, and have experience at it, too,” he said before the game. “It’s not something we’re hoping and wondering about.”
As usual, Showalter was right. Megill came out firing 99 mph — the highest velocity of his career — and did a credible Jacob deGrom impression, stacking together five scoreless innings with six strikeouts and zero walks. Only Tom Seaver (1972) and Noah Syndergaard (2017) had pitched as many innings on Opening Day without allowing a run or walk in franchise history, and Megill kept deGrom’s streak of three straight scoreless openers alive for a possible fourth.
“That was fun to watch,” Showalter said. “Couldn’t ask for much better.”
And while we’re on the subject of unlikely heroes, or anti-heroes for that matter, Cano getting the Opening Day start at second base was pretty high up on that list. Last week, he was wearing a first baseman’s mitt due to the fact that he’s supposed to be a man without a position on these Mets, a twice-suspended steroid cheat one PED strike away from flushing the last $48 million he’s due from owner Steve Cohen.
Within days of arriving at Clover Park, Showalter told everyone that McNeil was his team’s starting second baseman, relegating Cano to DH duty and largely a backup role. It was fair to wonder how long he could prove himself valuable enough to keep on the roster.
But nobody was asking that question Thursday, when Cano went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles — including a bunt through the shift — and scored two runs. The shift-beater was a thing of beauty, as he led off the fifth by poking a ground ball through the empty left side of the infield. The Mets then rallied for the only two runs they ultimately would need for the night.
“It’s not about my numbers,” he said. “I’m just trying to help the team by getting on base. Whatever it takes, I’ve got to find a way.”
Cano recalled pulling off a similar bunt in the past, as a Yankee against the Red Sox in 2013, but laughed in saying that it went for a double that time. “I was fast back then,” he said.
The Mets don’t need that from him now. Doing what he did Thursday was plenty, including a nifty pivot on a key double play that bailed out Megill in the second. As backups go, the Mets could do worse than one with 2,234 career hits, five Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves.
Showalter’s nimble Opening Night adjustments all seemed to pay off Thursday, and the Mets even survived some shoddy defense early on as well as a late scare from Pete Alonso, who got drilled on the shoulder/faceguard by Mason Thompson’s fastball in the ninth. The dangerous pitch sent Alonso’s helmet flying and he stayed on the ground for a bit, his mouth bloodied, before Showalter directed him away from first base and back to the dugout.
“All good,” Alonso said. “Just a busted lip. That’s it. Got all my teeth. No concussion.”
Even positive injury news for a change. That’s not what we typically expect from the Mets, and that was precisely the point during another successful — yet still surprising (in a positive sense) — Opening Day for the club.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
