Opening Day: 3 takeaways from the Mets' win over Paul Skenes and the Pirates
Mets rightfielder Carson Benge is greeted in the dugout after homering in his MLB debut against the Pirates during the sixth inning on Opening Day at Citi Field on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets couldn’t have hoped for a better Opening Day, slamming the Pirates, 11-7, and showcasing a lot of the qualities that were notably absent from last year’s squad.
Here are three takeaways:
1. They’re grinders
The Mets put together some impressive at-bats against Paul Skenes & Co., scoring five runs in the first inning and chasing the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner from the game before he could record a third out. Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco, in particular, had mature, disciplined plate appearances that portend good things to come.
“They’re controlling the strike zone, they’re creating traffic,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re putting the ball in play with two strikes, we’re going the other way when we need to. That’s a sign of a good offensive team from one through nine.”
2. The stage isn’t too big for Carson Benge
Benge, who had 22 family members and friends in attendance, struck out in his first two major-league at-bats but didn’t let it get to him. He walked in the fifth before scoring a run and then had his crowning moment — a solo home run into the home bullpen in right-center.
“Just calm down” is what he told himself after the strikeouts, he said. “Just deep breaths and calm down. Great atmosphere, great fans — just trying to bring myself back down.”
3. Luis Robert Jr. is a weapon
As Mendoza has said repeatedly, if Robert stays healthy, the former All-Star and Silver Slugger could be an absolute steal. Robert’s tools were on display Thursday as he went 2-for-4 with a run, two RBIs and a walk, legged out an infield hit and made a nice stumbling catch in center. He also showed some atypical plate discipline, something he worked on in spring training. With a full count against Skenes in the first, he laid off a nasty slider to earn the walk.
“We know he’s going to chase,” Mendoza said. “But you watch that whole at-bat right there against a pretty good arm where he gets behind, he’s able to foul off some pitches . . . [It’s a] credit to him and a credit to the hitting coaches because they’ve been behind the scenes in spring training. That’s been a point of emphasis — doing damage with pitches he can do damage with.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
