Mets starter Tylor Megill shattered all expectations in his first career Opening Day start, leading his team to a victory over the Nationals to open up the regular-season.
It was a night that Tyler Magill would never forget in DC. The right-hander took to the mound as the Mets' starting pitcher on Opening Day as an unlikely replacement for injured ace Jacob deGrom. And second-year Hurler defied all expectations, in what was likely to be his first audition to take DeGrom's place in the rotation until the two-time Cy Young Award winner was ready to return from the injured list. .
Magill played a total of five scoreless innings on 68 pitches (47 strikes), allowed three hits, dismissed six batsmen and did not issue a walk as he won the Nationals in game in the Mets' 5–1 victory. . 1 of the 2022 regular-season.
98 to strike out Juan Soto, ground out from Nelson Cruz.
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 8, 2022
Tylor Megill 👐 pic.twitter.com/U9CcZRsFOi
"I'll remember it," Megil said of the first start in his career. "The first of many."
Megill, 26, fired in the opening innings against the Nationals, throwing the five fastest pitches of his career, hitting a maximum of 99.1 mph on his four-seam fastball. Megil worked in the first innings 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts and a soft grounder off the bat from superstar Juan Soto.
What Magill has been praised for throughout his brief time as a big league player is his composure. Prior to the contest, Mets manager Buck Showalter cited Megill's ability to "low pulse" and "stay within reality" as two traits that impressed him about the young starter.
And these attributes were on full display when he survived tough jams in back-to-back innings. Megill wiped out prime scoring chances twice by the Nationals in the second and third.
Magill inspired a double play with the first two men at the end of a 5-4-3 innings and one out in the second. And in the third inning, he got out of first and third trouble by dismissing Soto and grounding Nelson Cruz.
"Attack every hitter," Magill said of his strategy, when facing Soto and Cruz, two hard hitters in this position. "Beat the strike zone in a way that they can put themselves out there."
Soto is undoubtedly one of the best hitters in baseball, but that didn't stop Megill from hitting 98 mph for a crucial strikeout.
"He's probably one of the more fun batsmen to pitch," Megill said of Soto. "He's very competitive. I also find myself very competitive, so it's always fun to go toe-to-toe with a guy like that.
"A guy of his caliber, as a pitcher he's someone you want to take out."
Megill and Nationals left-handed starter Patrick Corbin matched each other with zeros through four. Although the Mets were close to scoring their first run of the season in the top of the fourth, Pete Alonso was knocked down at the plate by Alcides Escobar while trying to score from first base on an Eduardo Escobar double.
However, he will not be denied in the next innings. The Mets loaded bases against Corbin, who proceeded to hit James McCann off the pitch to force New York into the ball game and first run of the season.
That was all for Corbin, who was knocked out of the competition with bases still filled and no one out. Reliever Victor Arano replaced him, allowing a run on the fielder's pick of Starling Marte, but he was able to break out of the jam without doing any additional damage beyond the play.
Corbin's final line on the night was four innings, five hits, four strikeouts and two earned runs from two walks. The left-hander suffered a loss in this outing as the offense of the Nets was unable to take the lead at any point in the game.
In the top of the sixth, the Mets' offense ignited a two-out rally, when Alonso advanced from right Austin Voth to second base on a wild pitch. Robinson Cano hit a walk, after which Mark Cano saw an RBI single to left center and put the Mets up 3-0. Jeff McNeill went back-to-back with Kanha for an RBI single of his own, which scored another run for the Mets.
Soto got on the nets board with a single home run from Trevor May in the bottom of the sixth. But the Mets would retaliate almost immediately. With the Mets up 4–1 in the top of the seventh, JD Davis led with a double before Francisco Lindor sent him home to opposite field with an RBI single.
Despite a slow start, the Mets' bat scored a total of five runs on the night. Cano, Alonso, McNeil and Kanha all recorded two hits a piece. And minus McCann, each member of the Mets' starting lineup recorded a hit.
McCann was hit by two pitches in the game, and Alonso was hit near his shoulder/helmet flap area, which knocked him to the ground in the ninth. Alonso, seen spitting blood, tried to go to first base, but Showalter did not allow him to do so. Alonso later came back into the dugout with an ice pack around his mouth and appeared fine after this scary moment.
Scary moment for Pete Alonso pic.twitter.com/W1vXbqQbiW
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 8, 2022
Fortunately, Alonso confirmed after the game that he had not lost any teeth and had cleared concussion protocol. Alonso came up with a plump lip, which was a best-case scenario in the situation.
After Megil's exit, May, Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo and Edwin Diaz combined allowed one run for a total of four innings, closing the door.
The Mets have the best record on Opening Day in MLB history. With Thursday evening's win, they are now improving 40-21 in their first game of the regular season.
Star pitcher Max Scherzer will take on his old team on Friday night for the second game of the series. Scherzer, who was battling hamstring hiccups, was cleared to make his first scheduled start yesterday after passing the fielding test.