The New York Mets absolutely drubbed the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday as they made team history by hitting four home runs for the first time ever in a home opener.
The Mets improved their impressive all-time home opener record to 40-21, as they smashed the Diamondbacks by a score of 10-3 on Jackie Robinson Day at Citi Field. The win was all the more important because several of the players they need to have good seasons in 2022 were standouts on the day.
New York Mets get blasts from Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte in home opener victory
After being suspended last season, Robinson Cano is back in flushing and needs to be a contributor for the team at 39-years-old. While they don’t need him to be the big-bopper in the middle of the order, but with him earning $24 million this season he has to offer something of note in the lineup. He did that on Friday when he smashed his first homer of the season in the fourth inning to give the team a 3-0 lead.
While expectations for the former New York Yankee aren’t over the moon considering his age, it is a very different situation for Francisco Lindor. After a disappointing season in his first year with the Mets, the franchise needs him to live up to every bit of the $32 million annually that he will make until 2031.
Thus far, he has gotten off to a solid start and had a memorable afternoon on his second opening day in New York. In the fifth and eighth inning, the second baseman blasted two home runs — from each side of the plate no less — to extend the team’s lead and move his home run and runs-batted-in totals for the year to three and seven, respectively.
Another talent the team has high hopes for in 2022, is offseason addition, Starling Marte. The 11-year veteran is expected to contribute not only at the plate but in the field as their top defender in the outfield.
Like Cano, he has not gotten off to a fast start, but he let himself be known in his first home opener in New York with an eighth-inning three-run blast that gave the Mets a 9-1 lead. It was his first of the season and as a part of his new team.
The New York Mets are on the MLB games today scheduled on Sunday and will once again battle the Diamondbacks.