Mets Morning News: Scherzer takes a step forward, Mets score five in win over Padres

Meet the Mets

The Mets opened their series against the Padres with a win, as Max Scherzer went five innings without giving up a run and struck out six. The offense plated five runs, all of which were charged to Yu Darvish, who had previously dominated the Mets over the course of his major league career. They scored three of those runs in the seventh inning, which featured two softly-hit infield singles that barely stayed fair off the bats of Luis Guillorme—whose was a bunt—and Tomás Nido.

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Daily News, MLB.com, Newsday, North Jersey

You can watch the glorious Guillorme bunt.

Starling Marte remained out of the Mets’ lineup last night with a neck strain.

FanGraphs breaks down Kodai Senga’s signature pitch and what to expect moving forward after his first two excellent major league starts.

When it comes to the most and least prospect assignments to begin the 2023 season, Brett Baty ranks as one of the least aggressive.

Mets pitching prospect José Butto was named the International League Pitcher of the Week.

Tim Britton looks at what the Mets’ plan is with Francisco Álvarez, who has played in just one of the Mets’ four games since he was called up.

Seth Lugo won’t face the Mets in this series, but he’s getting his shot to be a full-time major league starter with the Padres.

Between their series against the Padres at home and the west coast trip that follows it on their schedule, the Mets are in for a tough test.

Max Scherzer makes an appearance on a Buster Olney list of must-see teams and players.

Around the National League East

The Braves beat the Reds in ten innings, maintaining their one-game lead over the Mets in the division.

The Phillies rocked Sandy Alcantara and went on to beat the Marlins by a score of 15-3.

The Nationals hit twelve singles en route to a win over the Angels.

Around Major League Baseball

There’s a great story about the birth of Retrosheet at MLB.com.

The Rays won their tenth consecutive game to open their season, a record.

Pirates shorstop Oneil Cruz is expected to miss 10-12 weeks after having surgery on his ankle following a fracture he suffered on a play at the plate. The Pirates tweeted that they expect him to return in four months.

There have been pitch clock violations, but when will we see a shift violation?

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

We previewed the Mets’ series against the Padres in Queens.

Allison McCague provided a first of what will be many excellent installments of the position player and pitcher performance meters.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets played their very first regular season game on this date in 1962, a rare loss for a team that has since established the best Opening Day record in baseball.