Unsurprisingly, the vibes were good after the Mets’ 11-7 Opening Day victory over the Pirates at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon. That reflected in the post-game comments, where there were a lot of positive things to say about the team’s performance in the win.
Carlos Mendoza
On the team’s approach against Paul Skenes in the five-run first inning: “If you want to beat guys like this…you’re going to have to play perfect baseball, pretty much, not only putting together some pretty good at-bats, but running the bases,
putting the ball in play. That whole inning, the way everything unfolded, was pretty impressive. Overall, one through nine, pretty solid day, and it says a lot about our offense.” (MLB)
On the team getting contributions from the entire lineup: “They continued to add on. Not only that first inning, but that fifth inning was as good as the first one, where they’re controlling the strike zone, they’re creating traffic, we’re putting the ball in play with two strikes, we’re going the other way when we need to, that’s the sign of a good offensive team from one through nine. When you get contributions from Marcus [Semien], from [Carson] Benge, and Alvy [Francisco Alvarez], and we’re able to turn that lineup over, we’re going to be in a good place.” (MLB)
About Benge’s debut: “Who he is is super consistent. He’s 0-for-2 with a couple of strikeouts and he still feels pretty good about his chances. He controls the strike zones, he walks…and then he gets a pitch where he can do damage and goes to the pull side like that. I’m not surprised by it.” (SNY)
About Peralta’s Mets debut: “Other than the two mistakes there to Lowe, I thought he was pretty good. They put together some really good at-bats…he was able to get through five on a day where, like I said, a couple of missed pitches there where they clipped him. But overall, I thought he was very good.” (SNY)
Carson Benge
On his first major league home run: “I kind of blacked out running around the bases. I don’t really remember too much. I know I got it good off the bat.” (SNY)
On his support system in his major league debut: “It means the world, you now. Having all the people that have sacrificed so much for me come up and watch that happen is definitely big.” (SNY)
On his approach following the two strikeouts: “Just calm down. Deep breath, calm down. Great atmosphere, great fans, just trying to bring myself back down so I can compete.” (SNY)
On the Citi Field crowd: “It was amazing. The crowd was the loudest I’ve ever heard, times five.” (SNY)
On the reaction from the fans: “I just got chills that this is where I’m supposed to be and just having fun every day playing baseball.” (SNY)
On the dead bird incident: “I heard a thud, I looked over and it was just down. Down for the count.” (SNY)
Freddy Peralta
On the atmosphere at Citi Field: “Amazing, man, amazing. I think, personally, something that helped me to get better. But it’s amazing and I can’t wait to see it in the rest of the season that same way.” (SNY)
On the offense picking him up: “Amazing! I asked them earlier today before the game, ‘I need some runs from you guys.’ But damn, that’s crazy!” (SNY)
On the feeling of walking to the mound in a different uniform: “I don’t know how to explain to you right now what is the difference, but it feels different. The energy from the first pitch to the last one, you can feel it.” (SNY)
On his plans for a barbecue after Opening Day: “I wish. I don’t know, you never know. I’m going to keep it a secret. It may happen, yeah!” (SNY)
Bo Bichette
On his competitive at-bats: “The goal of our team should be to have the most competitive at-bats every single day.” (SNY)
On the mindset after getting down 2-0 in the first: “I mean it’s the first game, but it could give us a glimpse into what we want to be as a team. You know, getting down early and coming back against you know, maybe the best in the game. That’s good stuff, so we’ll try to keep it going.” (SNY)
Brett Baty
On contributing to the team’s Opening Day victory: “That was awesome. That was a really fun game. Our lineup was really special, put together a lot of scrappy at-bats, and then Freddy, the bullpen…it was awesome.” (SNY)
On Benge’s debut: “Unbelievable. Really, really cool. I think if I’m remembering correctly, Alvy hit a home run his first hit, maybe, and I think I did it, too. Well, I know I did it. But no, it was really really special, and I’m super happy for him.” (SNY)
On the team’s lineup: “It’s huge, that’s what we harp on. We’re a complete lineup. If you wear the pitcher down, then somebody in our lineup’s going to get a mistake and do some damage with it.” (SNY)
