Alonso Homers, Pitching Dominates in Home Opener Victory
In his first at-bat at Citi Field after an offseason where he tested free agency for the first time, Pete Alonso gave a stadium packed for the home opener what it wanted: a home run and a curtain call.
Alonso, who hit a three-run, game-tying home run in the eighth inning on Wednesday, cracked a two-run shot to right off Kevin Gausman (1-1), and the Mets went on to a 5-0 victory Friday over the Toronto Blue Jays (5-3). Alonso’s slash line through seven games: .292/.433/.750.
Tylor Megill (2-0) kept the Blue Jays off balance for 5 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up two hits, walking three and striking out four. He has given up one run in 10 1/3 innings over two starts to start the year. Reed Garrett relieved Megill in the sixth with two on and one out and fanned Andrés Giménez and Alejandro Kirk.
The Mets added three runs in the sixth when Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo each had RBI doubles, and Starling Marte brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. In his first game at Citi Field as a Met, Soto was 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a running, backhanded catch at the wall.
A.J. Minter struck out the side in the seventh, and Max Kranick finished off Toronto with two scoreless frames. Met pitchers struck out 10 Blue Jays in all.
New York (4-3) is over .500 for the first time this year. The Mets are 12-5 in Citi Field home openers and 42-22 overall.
By Roberto Carlo
Stat of the Game
Per SNY, Alonso becomes the fifth Met with at least three homers and 10 RBIs in the first seven games of a season. The others: Steve Henderson (1978), Darryl Strawberry (1987), Mike Piazza (2001) and John Buck (2013).
Player of the Game
Megill threw 48 of his 82 pitches for strikes and induced nine swings and misses. His ERA after two starts is 0.87.
On Deck
Griffin Canning (0-1, 3.18 ERA) will look for his first win as a Met against Chris Bassitt (1-0, 1.50 ERA), who won 15 games for the Mets in 2022. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on SNY.
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