{"id":44987,"date":"2025-03-29T09:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T09:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987"},"modified":"2025-03-29T09:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T09:17:10","slug":"three-encouraging-signs-as-the-mets-quickly-get-back-on-track-score-first-win-over-astros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987","title":{"rendered":"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2014 Juan Soto was able to crack a smile in the visiting clubhouse at Daikin Park on Friday night.<\/p>\n

After a rough ending to his first Opening Day with the Mets one day earlier, Soto had a few things to celebrate on day two of the regular season.<\/p>\n

He blasted\u00a0his first home run\u00a0as a member of the club \u2014 a 390-foot home run off the face of the second deck \u2014 in the top of the third inning against the\u00a0Astros. And it came in a victory.<\/p>\n

Soto’s solo shot helped extend the lead and deliver the Mets to their first win of the season, 3-1, in front of 37,004 fans in Houston.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The positive result allowed Soto to let loose a little bit as he met with the media following the game.<\/p>\n

Did he know the laser-beam was gone when it left his bat? “100 percent,” he asserted.<\/p>\n

Did he even feel any pressure in his first few laps with his new team? Simply put: “No.”<\/p>\n

It proved to be a cool response by Soto and the Mets after they fell short in an uneven performance in a 3-1 loss on Opening Day.<\/p>\n

Juan Soto mounts immediate response in second game<\/h2>\n
\"New<\/figure>\n

Mendoza called Soto’s first home run as a Met “pretty incredible.”<\/p>\n

The long ball came after Soto fell behind 1-2 against Astros starter Hunter Brown, but he was able to turn on a 95.9 mph cutter up and in, out of the strike zone and sent it over the wall.<\/p>\n

“He’s Juan Soto. He’s gonna come through more times than not,” Mendoza said. “What you want is to give him and the guys a chance to win a baseball game. We did that yesterday, we didn’t get the W. Today, he came in and did what he did. He’s a special player.”<\/p>\n

Soto regathered his superstar form after striking out as the go-ahead run in the Mets’ 3-1 loss on Thursday. In his opening at-bat Friday, he struck out looking on a sinker on the inside corner.<\/p>\n

After the first at-bat, Soto discussed Brown’s approach with a few of the Mets’ other lefty hitters \u2014 Jesse Winker and Brett Baty \u2014 and stepped into the box with a better feeling about the ride on the righty’s pitches and his comfort with the cutter. He bounced back in a big way.<\/p>\n

“I was hunting something up there,” Soto said. “For me, I just saw it and hit it. I wasn’t looking at the speed or anything. I feel like I saw it really well, even if it was 96. I saw it really well, I followed my plan and I just trusted it.”<\/p>\n

Tylor Megill taking new approach<\/h2>\n
\"New<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Tylor Megill earned his spot in the starting rotation this time around.<\/p>\n

While injuries to Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander thrust the right-hander onto the mound on Opening Day in two of the last three seasons, this time, he was not a last-minute replacement. In a month-long competition with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas sidelined, Megill emerged over Paul Blackburn for a spot.<\/p>\n

He backed up the Mets’ leadership’s confidence on Friday night, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five in five innings to earn the win.<\/p>\n

“It was really good. I thought he threw strikes. Early on, he was attacking,” Mendoza said. “They hit some balls hard, but that’s what we were asking him to do. Throw strikes, stay on the attack.”<\/p>\n

As he worked his way onto the rotation, Megill was encouraged to narrow his pitch mix, keep it simpler and not to be afraid to pitch to contact. He embodied that message, wearing a T-shirt postgame that read, “We like it in the box.”<\/p>\n

He threw first-pitch strikes to 11 of the 19 batters he faced and picked up a big double play in the fifth inning. He featured predominantly his four-seam fastball, slider and sinker and only threw 70 pitches through five innings before his day ended when a pair of Astros batters reached on a dropped third strike and a single to begin the sixth.<\/p>\n

“Consistency is the name of the game,” Megill said. “If I can go out and do what I did tonight and keep that going forward throughout the whole year, I think I’ll end up in good shape. Obviously not five innings but getting deeper into games.”<\/p>\n

The bullpen backs him up<\/h2>\n
\"New<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Reed Garrett replaced Megill with two runners on base and no outs and provided arguably the biggest boost of the game.<\/p>\n

He froze Isaac Paredes on a sweeper and worked around a walk to Yordan Alvarez by striking out Christian Walker and getting Yainer Diaz to fly out to center field to keep the score 3-1.<\/p>\n

“With Alvarez, understanding there was a base open and still made pitches, and that’s what he did,” Mendoza said. “Ending up walking him and didn’t give up there. And came back and got Walker striking out and got out of that inning. Huge.”<\/p>\n

Mendoza said he has the confidence in Garrett to work him into the high-leverage mix ahead of Edwin Diaz in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. On Friday, A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless seventh with a strikeout and a walk, while Ryne Stanek picked up a scoreless eighth with a walk.<\/p>\n

Diaz shut the door for his first save, watching his velocity climb to roughly 98 mph as he tossed a perfect ninth, striking out Yainer Diaz for the opening out of the final frame.<\/p>\n

“The intensity was higher than spring training,” Diaz said. “Spring training, sometimes you just go out and try to work on things, so I wasn’t paying attention much about my velo. I knew today as soon as I started playing catch, I knew my velo was there. I was feeling strong. “<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

northjersey.com wants to ensure the best experience for all of our readers, so we built our site to take advantage of the latest technology, making it faster and easier to use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nThree encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"northjersey.com wants to ensure the best experience for all of our readers, so we built our site to take advantage of the latest technology, making it faster and easier to use.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"544\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987\",\"name\":\"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg\",\"width\":544,\"height\":680},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\",\"name\":\"MsNga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsNga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA","og_description":"northjersey.com wants to ensure the best experience for all of our readers, so we built our site to take advantage of the latest technology, making it faster and easier to use.","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":544,"height":680,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MsNga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsNga","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987","name":"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-29T09:17:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/486699086_1209782897816326_1821340796779952093_n.jpg","width":544,"height":680},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=44987#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Three encouraging signs as the Mets quickly get back on track, score first win over Astros"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37","name":"MsNga","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsNga"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44989,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44987\/revisions\/44989"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}