Canning’s Strong Debut Not Enough in Series Finale

Griffin Canning had faced the Houston Astros nine times before Saturday.

None of those outings looked anything like this one.

Coming into the game, Canning owned an ugly 0-3 record and a 6.69 ERA against the reigning American League West champions. Astros fans likely expected more of the same — another rough night for a pitcher they’d torched before. Instead, they ran into a version of Canning they’d never seen.

Canning allowed two runs on four hits across five and 2/3 innings in a 2-1 loss to the Astros. He struck out four while walking two. He made two lone mistakes. And he was handed the loss because the Mets only managed one hit and a handful of base runners.

The Mets took a chance on Canning, a pitcher who had struggled mightily in recent years, and sent him through their renowned “pitching lab.” Whatever they did, it worked, so far at least. The 28-year-old still made a few mistakes, but he dug in and delivered the kind of performance that made New York’s one-year gamble look like a calculated move, not a desperation depth signing.

Still, he wasn’t flawless. In his first start as a member of the Mets, he made one mistake too many, surrendering a fifth-inning home run to Jeremy Peña. And not for nothing, Peña’s first home run of the season, which was also the Astros’ first extra base hit of the season, would have cleared the fence in just five other ballparks.

An inning later, Canning left a slider hanging over the plate, and Yordan Alvarez did what Alvarez does, punishing it without hesitation. Given Alvarez’s career numbers against Canning, you had to figure that was coming at some point.

The Astros’ designated hitter won their third battle against each other, and under different circumstances, you might have questioned Carlos Mendoza’s decision to let Canning face him a third time. But it’s March 29. That’s what Danny Young is there for, but in the third game of the season, Mendoza was willing to let his starter work through it.

Sometimes, you have to tip your cap to a great hitter.

But Canning earned a nod of respect, too.

He wasn’t perfect, but he was tough. He was sharp. And for the first time in his career against Houston, he didn’t look overmatched; he looked like a pitcher the Mets could trust. If this version of Canning is here to stay, that one-year gamble might look like a steal.

The Mets managed just one run in the series finale against the Astros, manufactured by Jose Siri. The toolsy outfielder started the sixth with a walk, then wound up at third after stealing second and moving up on a Francisco Lindor sac fly.

Then, with Juan Soto at the plate, he ran home after Spencer Arrighetti threw to first on a comebacker, beating the throw from Christian Walker.

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