Mets Beat Marlins 5-3 On Opening Day Led By Nimmo and Bullpen

Mets CF Brandon Nimmo (Photo Credits to Lynne Sladky-AP)

 The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 this afternoon at Marlins Park on Opening Day and improved their record to 1-0.

The offense was held scoreless for the first two innings against 2022 NL Cy Young Award RHP Sandy Alcantara, but broke through in the top of the third.

DH Daniel Vogelbach led off with a walk and two batters later, catcher Omar Navarez which advanced Vogelbach to third.

CF Brandon Nimmo then drove in the first run of the season with a sacrifice fly.

The bats did not do much in the next couple of innings, but in the top of the sixth Nimmo walked with one out. 

RF Starling Marte followed a single and then advanced to second on a throwing error by CF Jazz Chisholm Jr which also allowed to Nimmo to advance to third.

SS Francisco Lindor then drove in Nimmo with a sacrifice fly. 

1B Pete Alonso followed with a walk and then 2B Jeff McNeil hit a RBI single.

In the top of the seventh, 3B Eduardo Escobar singled with one out and then Navarez followd with a walk.

Nimmo came up next and capped off his stellar day at the plate with a two-run double for his second and third RBI of the game.

RHP Max Scherzer started out well with five scoreless innings and was helped out by his defense with two double plays in the first four innings.

Scherzer ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth after he gave up a lead-off double to catcher Jacob Stallings and two batters later, a RBI double to 2B Luiz Arraez.

Scherzer then gave up a two-run homer to 1B Garrett Cooper later in the inning, but was able to reover and keep the game and was taken out after the inning.

His final line was six innings, four hits, three runs, two walks and six strikeouts and he picked up his first win.

Scherzer had sharp command for the first five innings, and ran out of gas in the sixth which prevented him from going deeper in the game.

RHP Drew Smith followed with a scoreless bottom of the seventh and had two strikeouts.

LHP Brooks Radley made his Met debut in the bottom of the eighth and had a stellar first outing with a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts.

RHP David Robertson came on in the bottom of the ninth and closed the game out with a 1-2-3 inning to pick up his first save.

The Mets next game is tomorrow night, Friday, March 31th at the Marlins at 6:40 p.m.