The Mets spoiled Jacob deGrom’s solid Opening Day start, falling to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3, on Tuesday.
Takeaways from the game
1) Entering the eighth inning, Trevor May could only get one out before the bases were loaded on two singles and a walk. Then, Aaron Loup came in for his own Mets debut and hit Bryce Harper to bring in a run followed by a J.T. Realmuto single to tie the game at two. The big blow came when Luis Guillorme had a wild throw home on a ground ball to third base that James McCann couldn’t handle. Two more runs came home there, and Didi Gregorius hit a sac fly to have the fifth run of the inning cross home plate.
2) DeGrom may have had his first start of the year ruined, but he can truly do it all -- even. Not only did he not allow a run over his six innings of work, but deGrom helped himself with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with an RBI in the top of the fourth with bases loaded. On the mound, deGrom wasn’t the sharpest we’ve seen him, but he was touching triple digits with the fastball, had sharp bite on the slider and that led to seven strikeouts. He also walked Harper twice for his two free passes on the day.
3) Francisco Lindor went 1-for-4 with a walk in his first game as a Met, though he had a couple taken away from him. In his second at-bat, he hit a hard grounder that would’ve went up the middle if the pitcher didn’t get a glove on it first. Then, after walking his third time up, he hit an opposite field rope toward third base. Alec Bohm spoiled it by leaping and snatching the ball out of the air. In the field, however, Lindor was smooth with a double play turn up the middle and almost doing it himself in the middle innings.
4) Pete Alonso (1-for-4, BB, R) had the tying runs on base in the top of the ninth inning after Michael Conforto (2-for-5, RBI) drove home a run to make it, 5-3. He swung first pitch and got a lot of it, but not enough as he flew out to the warning track to end the game.
4) McCann drove in the first run of the Mets’ season, a single to left field to bring home Alonso. That was his only hit of the day, while providing a good game behind the plate calling pitches for deGrom and the rest of the Mets’ pitchers.
5) Kevin Pillar got the start in center field and led off for the Mets, which was interesting because Dominic Smith wasn't there. He went 1-for-5, including an inning-ending double play in the top of the fourth with bases loaded.