Gary Sanchez did nothing to disqualify himself from fighting for time behind the plate in Sunday's matinee. But for the former Yankees catcher making his Mets debut, it was just good to contribute to a win.
"It was exciting because we were able to get the win, most importantly," Sanchez said through an interpreter after the Mets' 5-4 win in Game 1 of the Guardians doubleheader sweep.
Sanchez struck out twice but had a single as part of a run-scoring fourth inning (but was thrown out that the plate trying to score from first) and a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
"I was excited to be able to help the team out," he said of his day at the plate. "I'm happy with the way that it went."
While the Mets have needed an extra bat in the lineup to contribute some pop, whether Sanchez will stick around depends on how well he does behind the plate. And he got good marks from starter Max Scherzer, who gutted through six scoreless innings Sunday.
“I had a good pregame conversation with him on what we wanted to do with guys," Scherzer said. "I felt like he was kind of creative in how he wanted to call pitches. So, for no experience working together, it actually worked pretty well."
What does it mean to be a creative pitch caller for the former Cy Young winner?
"Knowing when to stick with the heater, knowing when to mix off-speed and keep the mix on and stay irrational, that’s what creative means," Scherzer said.
Manager Buck Showalter "thought [Sanchez] and Max worked well together."
"I know he was here early this morning going through everything," Showalter said. "He and Max spent a lot of time together and it showed."
For the 30-year-old Sanchez, catching the veteran ace wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be.
“He made me look good, just the type of pitcher that he is -- a Hall of Famer who is able to locate all his pitches pretty easily," Sanchez said of his battery mate. "I thought it would be a little more difficult, but it wasn’t.”
And when it comes to the added pressure of the Mets' logjam at catcher, Sanchez isn't sweating it.
“I’m just focused on doing my job and taking advantage of the opportunity that I have,” he said. “We have a lot of catchers on this team. But we’re all just trying to do the same thing, which is help the team win.”