Who started for the NY Mets on Opening Day the most at each position?
These players had the most Opening Day starts for their position for the New York Mets.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets’ scuffling offense received a bit of a reprieve before their Wednesday matchup against the Giants.
The Giants announced that their probable starter Blake Snell had been placed on the 15-day injured list with an adductor strain. Suddenly, the Mets were contending with a bullpen game against a unit that entered with the second-worst ERA in Major League Baseball.
The Mets took advantage of that sudden change, breaking away with six runs between the third and fifth innings and avoiding a sweep with an 8-2 victory over the Giants in front of 30,183 fans on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park.
Francisco Lindor broke out after going hitless in his first seven at-bats of the series. The Mets shortstop opened the scoring with a left-handed two-run home run over the 25-foot wall in right field and closed with another two-run shot in that direction to finish 4-for-5 with four RBI.
Jeff McNeil and Tyrone Taylor each collected a pair of hits, with Taylor driving in three runs and scoring twice.
The victory capped a six-game California road trip where the Mets finished 3-3 against the Dodgers and Giants. They return home for a seven-game homestand against the Cardinals and Cubs with a 13-11 record. And when they get there, they’ll be looking forward to the long-awaited debut of JD Martinez.
JD Martinez heading north
After being held to three runs in 28 innings between three losses to the Dodgers and Giants, the Mets are exciting about the lift that Martinez can provide to a lineup that will be missing Francisco Alvarez for the next eight weeks.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said that the expectation is that Martinez will be in the lineup batting behind Pete Alonso on Friday night against the Cardinals, assuming the designated hitter comes through his final start with Triple-A Syracuse healthy.
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“This is a guy that it’s not a secret how good of a career (he’s had) and what he provides from the offensive side and the impact that he has on the ballclub,” Mendoza said. “This is a pretty smart leader and he’s got his ideas and he’s very impactful for the position player group side of things.”
Martinez, who was signed with a week left in spring training, had a quick ramp-up, followed by a setback to deal with lower back tightness. In a pair of games between Single-A St. Lucie and Syracuse since his return, Martinez was 3-for-7 with a double, two runs and two RBI.
“I’ve heard that he’s a freak when it comes to hitting. I love that,” Lindor said. “I can’t wait to see how he goes about his business and whether it’s preparation in the cage, but also how he studies pitchers. I’m excited for that.”
Mendoza said he plans to be careful with Martinez’s playing time in the early going.
Tyrone Taylor provides a spark
Over the course of the 2024 season, Taylor has been the ultimate Swiss army knife in the outfield for the Mets.
The 30-year-old outfielder has made four starts in right field, three left and two in center field while filling in as a defensive replacement and pinch hitter. On Wednesday afternoon, Taylor earned the start in right field as Mendoza gave Starling Marte a day at designated hitter.
Taylor continued his torrid start to the season at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a solo home run to center field and an opposite-field two-run double into the right-center field gap.
Following his big game, Taylor is now slashing .333/.365/.521 with two home runs, 13 RBI, two doubles and five runs scored.
“This is a guy that his preparation is off the charts. He’s done it before,” Mendoza said. “Even some of the days that he’s not in the lineup, his preparation is through the roof.
“He’s going through every arm that he’s going to be facing as a pinch hitter, potential scenarios where he’ll be coming in as a defensive replacement and things like that, and he’s such a professional in every facet.”
Sean Manaea frustrated with abbreviated scoreless outing
Sean Manaea hovered on the dugout railing with his head buried inside his crossed arms.
There were some qualities of his outing that were commendable. Manaea did not allow an earned run across 4⅔ innings, struck out the side in the first and closed with six strikeouts. On the other hand, Manaea needed 101 pitches to record 14 outs and was pulled short of qualifying for his potential second win of the season.
The left-hander was able to trim his ERA from 4.12 to 3.33 by getting around a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the second inning by producing three straight fly balls. He walked the opening two batters of the third inning but was able to evade any damage with a pick-off at second base, a strikeout and a pop-up.
Manaea ended up allowing four hits and four walks in his abbreviated outing. After tossing six scoreless in his debut, the 32-year-old has not recorded more than 15 outs in a game since.
