Meet the Mets
The Mets pulled off a thrilling, walk-off victory for their second win of the year, as Luis Robert Jr. began his Mets tenure with a bang, ending the game on a three-run homer in the bottom of the eleventh. Both offenses were held scoreless until extras on a chilly afternoon at Citi Field, as David Peterson and Mitch Keller traded zeroes. The Mets allowed the ghost runner to score in both the tenth and the eleventh, but managed to tie it in the bottom of the tenth and win it in the eleventh thanks
to Robert’s heroics.
Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic
Laura Albanese of Newsday proved prophetic in a piece published yesterday in which she posited that Luis Robert Jr. could be the Mets’ X-factor in 2026 if he stays healthy.
Howie Rose did an interview with The New York Post about his retirement and his favorite memories in the Mets booth.
The Mets’ offseason retooling is already paying dividends, writes Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
But the Mets are already experiencing learning curves at both first and third base, as Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette both had mishaps in the field yesterday.
Around the National League East
The Phillies participated in an extra-inning contest yesterday as well, coming from three runs behind to tie the Rangers in the ninth. But Texas defeated Philadelphia 5-4 in ten innings.
Jacob deGrom was scratched from this start for Texas due to neck stiffness, but Jacob Latz had a strong outing in his stead.
The Mets weren’t the only NL East team to triumph in walk-off fashion yesterday. Old friend Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam in his Braves debut to propel Atlanta to a 6-2 victory over the Royals. He became the first player in baseball history to hit a walk-off grand slam in his debut with a team.
We later learned the walk-off was extra special for Smith, who lost his mother to cancer just two weeks ago.
The Nationals were shellacked by the Cubs 10-2, as Miles Mikolas’ 2026 is off to a shaky start.
The Nationals acquired infielder Curtis Mead from the White Sox in exchange for catcher Boston Smith. Mead had been designated for assignment earlier this week after failing to make Chicago’s Opening Day roster.
Owen Caissie’s go-ahead single in the eighth lifted the Marlins to a 4-3 victory over the Rockies. Eury Perez pitched seven strong innings in his season debut for Miami.
Unfortunately for Miami, they also lost a key player to injury yesterday when Cristopher Morel hit the IL with an oblique strain after he was a late scratch from the lineup on Friday after experiencing discomfort during batting practice. The Marlins plan to call up first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos to make his major league debut to replace Morel on the roster.
Around Major League Baseball
Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn becomes another victim of the broken hamate bone epidemic. He needs surgery and will miss 4-6 weeks.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider returned to his desk at the Rogers Centre to find a letter addressed to him that had been waiting for him all winter, dated the day after Toronto’s Game 7 loss in the World Series to the Dodgers. “I don’t know you,” it said, “but I felt compelled to reach out after watching your incredible leadership on display during the World Series.” The letter was from Golden State Warriors head coach and nine-time NBA champion Steve Kerr.
It was quite the day for walk-offs yesterday, as Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt followed up his home run in his big league debut with a walk-off knock in the Cardinals’ 6-5 victory over the Rays.
It has been an impressive first few games of the season for the 2026 rookie class, as Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter continued his early run of excellence with an opposite-field two-run homer that helped buoy Cleveland to a 6-5 victory over the Mariners.
Jared Greenspan of MLB.com ran down seven teams who are facing a litany of early injuries and discussed how they can overcome them.
Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue
In a new episode of Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World Series, Brian Salvatore and Chris McShane recapped Thursday’s Opening Day victory.
This Date in Mets History
On this date in 2000, Mike Hampton made his Mets debut at Japan’s Tokyo Dome in the first MLB Opening Day game ever played outside of North America.
