Hold the presses: this Johan Santana kid can pitch!
Seriously, another good Opening Day for a franchise with uncanny first-game success over its history (31-17, lifetime) – yet there were some good signs not named Santana (6 innings, 4 hits, one earned run, 5K, 2BB).
The core of the eventual Mets lineup performed very well – David Wright continued his hot spring hitting, going yard the opposite way. Jason Bay got his Mets season off to a great start with a single and a long triple, and Jeff Francoeur drive in two. And Rod Barrajas made have made Mets fans forget all about Benjie Molina.
After Santana, Fernando Nieve looked very strong in middle relief and Frankie Rodriguez had an uneventful ninth. (On the other side, the Marlins played incredibly sloppy defense, but let’s stress the positive for the Metties).
Darryl Strawberry threw out the first pitch to Howard Johnson (big, looping strike). And even the new cream-colored throwback home “whites” looked good out there with the traditional blue hats.
Oh – nobody got hurt.
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