Mets Opening Day: Live blog from Citi Field

The 'No Casino' fans have arrived

Last December, a New York State panel approved three casino proposals for lucrative gambling licenses, including one at Citi Field.

Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen proposed an $8.1 billion Hard Rock casino complex on a parking lot of Citi Field, including a performance venue, hotel and retail space.

On Opening Day for the Mets, not everyone seemed thrilled with the idea, as Newsday's Ben Dickson took note of here:

Starting lineups for Mets vs. Pirates

METS STARTING LINEUP

1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Juan Soto, LF
3. Bo Bichette, 3B
4. Jorge Polanco, 1B
5. Luis Robert Jr. CF
6. Brett Baty, DH
7. Marcus Semien, 2B
8. Carson Benge, RF
9. Francisco Alvarez, C

SP: Freddy Peralta

PIRATES STARTING LINEUP

1. Oneil Cruz, CF
2. Brandon Lowe, 2B
3. Bryan Reynolds, LF
4. Marcell Ozuna, DH
5. Ryan O'Hearn, RF
6. Jared Triolo, SS
7. Spencer Horwitz, 1B
8. Nick Gonzales, 3B
9. Henry Davis, C

SP: Paul Skenes

Some Mets-Pirates Opening Day history

The last time the Mets faced the Pirates was April 1, 2002. Al Leiter got the win that day for the Mets, outdueling Pittsburgh's Ron Villone in a 5-2 win.

For some perspective, today's starting pitcher for Pittsburgh, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, was not yet born. (That would happen 57 days later.)

Today is the eighth time the Mets have played the Pirates to open the season and are 5-2 in the first seven.

First impressions last, and can travel over fences, too

First, a list of position players making their Mets debut today:

• Carson Benge
• Bo Bichette
• Jorge Polanco
• Marcus Semien
• Luis Robert Jr.

And second, the list of players who have homered in their at-bat as a Met:

Benny Ayala: August 27, 1974 (first MLB at-bat)

Mike Fitzgerald: September 13, 1983 (first MLB at-bat)

Rick Cerone: April 9, 1991

José Vizcaíno: April 4, 1994 (walked in his first plate appearance)

Todd Pratt: July 4, 1997

Mike Bordick: July 29, 2000 (first pitch)

Bubba Trammell: July 30, 2000

Kazuo Matsui: April 6, 2004 (first pitch of first MLB at-bat)

Mike Jacobs: August 21, 2005 (first MLB at-bat)

Robinson Cano: March 28, 2019

Rajai Davis: May 22, 2019

Aaron Altherr: May 24, 2019

Brett Baty: August 17, 2022 (first MLB at-bat)

The Mets' Opening Day history

As the Mets get ready for their 65th Opening Day, some fun facts about their previous 64:

• The Mets are 41-23 on Opening Day, the best winning percentage of any MLB team in season openers.
• They are 7-3 in their last 10 Opening Day games. They have lost their last two, both 3-1 defeats (at Houston in 2025, and at home against Milwaukee in 2024).
• The Mets lost their first eight Opening Days (1962-69), then went 18-2 in their next 20 season openers from 1970 to 1989, including a streak of nine straight from 1975-83. 
• When rookie rightfielder Carson Benge takes the field today, he will become the 11th player to make his MLB debut for the Mets on Opening Day. He also will become just the fourth position player to make his MLB debut for the Mets on Opening Day. The last position player to do so? Pete Alonso in 2019.
• David Wright made 12 Opening Day starts with the Mets, the most in franchise history.

Citi Field feels like home now

Tens of thousands of Mets fans will be walking into Citi Field today, a building that once felt more like a neutral site than it did the home of the Mets.

But Citi Field has finally started to feel like the Mets' home rather than just an homage to Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers.

“In the beginning, we got criticized a lot for the Brooklyn Dodgers stuff,” Mets team historian and vice president of alumni relations Jay Horwitz said in this Newsday article from our preview section about baseball's great stages. “We didn’t really pay enough homage to our past. I think as the years went by, we realized that we had to get away from other teams and talk about our teams [as well]. We just tried to make it so fans [were surrounded] by Mets history.”

Opening Day ceremony details

National anthem: Tony Award-nominated actor Christopher Jackson, who originated the role of George Washington in "Hamilton."

Ceremonial first pitch: Davey Johnson’s widow, Susan, will escort Jeremiah Allen, Johnson’s stepson, and Kai Casebolt, Johnson’s grandson, to the mound for ceremonial first pitches. Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson, both of whom played for Johnson, will catch the pitches.

Actual first pitch: Scheduled for 1:10 p.m. by the Mets' Freddy Peralta, who gets the Opening Day start against Pittsburgh's reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.

"God Bless America" in 7th-inning stretch: NYPD Detective Brianna Fernandez.

Veteran of the Game: Arthur Grabiner, 100, served in Navy in the Pacific during World War II.

Mets' Opening Day roster

Here are the 26 players on hand for the Mets as they face the Pirates on Thursday at Citi Field:

CATCHERS (2)

Francisco Alvarez, Luis Torrens

INFIELDERS (7)

Brett Baty, Bo Bichette, Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Mark Vientos, Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS (4)

Carson Benge, Luis Robert Jr., Juan Soto, Tyrone Taylor

PITCHERS (13)

Huascar Brazobán (RHP), Luis García (RHP), Clay Holmes (RHP), Richard Lovelady (LHP), Sean Manaea (LHP), Nolan McLean (RHP), Tobias Myers (RHP), Freddy Peralta (RHP), David Peterson (LHP), Brooks Raley (LHP), Kodai Senga (RHP), Luke Weaver (RHP), Devin Williams (RHP)