Chris Bassitt tossed six strong innings for the second straight start and Francisco Lindor hit two home runs Friday afternoon as the New York Mets won their home opener by cruising past the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-3.
Robinson Cano and Starling Marte also homered for the Mets, who overcame the absence of starting outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Mark Canha — each of whom reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 — to win their third straight game and improve to 40-21 in home openers, including 10-4 since Citi Field opened in 2009.
The Diamondbacks scored three runs or fewer for the fifth time in seven games.
Bassitt (2-0) carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth, when Daulton Varsho hit a leadoff homer for Bassitt’s only earned run. The 33-year-old right-hander, who threw six scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals last Saturday, walked two and struck out six on Friday.
Sacrifice flies by Pete Alonso off Zach Davies (0-1) in the first and third innings gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. Cano, who was suspended for the entire 2021 season after testing positive a second time for a PED, homered for the first time since Sept. 22, 2020, when he went deep leading off the fourth. Lindor’s two-run homer chased Davies with one out in the fifth.
Eduardo Escobar added an RBI double in the seventh and the Mets piled on in the eighth, when Marte hit a three-run shot and Lindor followed with his second homer.
Marte and Travis Jankowski had three hits each, and Marte and Lindor each added a stolen base.
Ketel Marte had the Diamondbacks’ only other hit against Bassitt, a second-inning double. Arizona scored twice in the ninth off Sean Reid-Foley, who issued two walks before giving up an RBI double to Seth Beer and inducing Sergio Alcantara to hit into a run-scoring groundout.
Davies allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out two over 4 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media