Mets Get A Big Outing From Bassitt & A Few Blasts To Take The Home Opener

The Mets and Diamondbacks lined up on the baselines for pre-game introductions. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Mets beat the Diamondbacks, 10-3, on Friday afternoon in the home opener at Citi Field, as they got a tremendous start from Chris Bassitt, and home runs from Francisco Lindor, who hit two; Robinson Cano, and Starling Marte. The Mets are now 6-2 to start the season.

Bassitt was making his first home start for the Mets, and he threw a gem. He went six innings, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks, with six strikeouts. He threw 98 pitches, with 64 strikes, to earn his second win as a Met.

The big right-hander also threw six shutout innings in his Mets debut in Washington last Saturday. In that game, he held the Nationals to just three hits and a walk, with eight strikeouts, and thre 93 pitches.

Bassitt overcame some trouble in the first inning when he allowed a one-out double to Ketel Marte, which was then followed by a walk to David Peralta. He got out of it by striking out Christian Walker and then getting Pavin Smith on a fly ball.

The Mets got on the board in the bottom of the first when Pete Alonso got a sacrifice fly to left field score Jeff McNeil, who led the game off with a single. 

Alonso delivered the Mets' second run of the game in the third inning in the same fashion, as he brought home Starling Marte, who got himself into scoring position when he stole second base and took third on a throwing error by Arizona catcher Jose Herrera. 

That was followed by Robinson Cano leading off the fourth inning with an opposite field home run to make it 3-0 Mets.

The Mets kept it going in the fifth, as Marte got a one-out single, and Francisco Lindor followed by hitting a bomb into the second deck in right field for a two-run homer.

Through it all, Bassitt was sailing, as he did not allow a hit after the first inning until Daulton Varsho homered to lead off the sixth inning. That broke a stretch in which he retired eight Diamondbacks in a row, and 13 out of 15.

The only runners Arizona had in that span, ironically, wwere Geraldo Perdomo, who reached by a hit-by-pitch to lead off the third inning, and Jose Herrera, who walked in the fifth. 

Perdomo was erased trying to steal second bas, thrown out by Mets catcher James McCann after Daulton Varsho struck out to complete the double play.

Chasen Shreve relieved Bassitt, and struck out the side in the seventh in the Citi Field debut for the ex-Yankee.

The Mets tacked on another run in the bottom half of the seventh, as Eduardo Escobar doubled to right field to bring home Lindor, who walked earlier in the frame, to make it 6-1. Escobar's hit went off he closed glove of Pavin Smith, who tried to make the catch on a run, but that was generous scoring for sure to give him the double.

In the eighth, the Mets really blew it open as Starling Marte hit a majestic three-run homer, and Lindor hit his second of the game, a solo shot, to make it 10-1.