Remembering Mets Opening Days (2015) Mets Start their N.L. Championship Run
Many of the team's management jobs were in jeopardy. The Mets had to prove themselves, it was now or never.
The 2014 Mets finished second but under .500 at 79-83. In the off season the Mets brought in Michael Cuddyer from Minnesota, as well as John Mayberry, Jerry Blevins & Alex Torres.
Mets Manager Terry Collins chose to give Bartolo Colon the ball for Opening Day. The criticisms started as soon as Collins named his starter, but he felt Colon deserved the ball after being one of just eleven N.L. pitchers to win 15 or ore games.
Matt Harvey was coming back from Tommy John surgery & it was agreed he would be handled very carefully. He made limited starts & have a low pitch count. The 2014 Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom would start the second game of the season & was scheduled to get the ball for the home Opener next week.
A sellout crowd of excited Nationals fans all dressed in red came out to Nationals Park to see the Mets Bartolo Colon take on the Nat's new pitching star pitcher Max Scherzer.
Scherzer was coming fresh off two straight seasons of leading the American League in victories while pitching for the Detroit Tigers. Max had signed a big off season deal of $210 million for seven years to pitch in D.C.
Both starting pitchers held their opponents scoreless through the first three innings.
In the bottom of the 4th, the Nationals slugger Bryce Harper hit the first HR of what was to be his league leading 42 HRs that season. Harper would win his first MVP that year, also leading the league in runs scored (118) on base % (.462) OPS (1.109) slugging (.649) & WAR (9.7). He also hit .330 with 99 RBIs.
Bartolo Colon would hold the Nationals to that lone run, as he pitched six innings allowing just three hits, one walk while striking out eight.
Bartolo Colon Trivia: Bart would strike out eight or more batters six times on the season in 31 starts. He would win 14 games (14-13) that season & win 14 or more games 11 times in his 21-year career. He won 14 or more games in each of his three seasons with the Mets going 44-34. In 2015 he posted a 4.16 ERA & struck out 136 batters in 194.2 innings. He would also allow a league leading 217 hits.
Scherzer held the Mets scoreless thru the first five innings. In the top of the 6th inning, after retiring the first two batters, Curtis Granderson drew a walk.
Then David Wright reached on an infield error by Ian Desmond on a pop up.
Lucas Duda delivered a single to right field bringing in both Granderson & Wright giving the Mets the 2-1 lead.
on a hurry up throw to first trying to catch the speedy Lagares.
Catcher Travis d'Arnaud then connected for a triple to straight away center easily scoring Lagares from first making it 3-1 Mets. It was all the Mets needed for the win.
Scherzer would pitch into the 8th inning going 7.2 innings allowing three runs on four hits with two walks & eight strike outs taking the loss.
That season Max would go 14-12 with a 2.79 ERA for the second place Nationals (83-79).
The Mets bullpen came on with Carlos Torres retiring the side in order in the 7th.
The Mets bullpen came on with Carlos Torres retiring the side in order in the 7th. Jeurys Familia, who at the time was not yet the teams dominant closer, putting in a scoreless 8th inning as he struck out Matt den Dekker & Michael Taylor to start the inning.
In the 9th, it was Jerry Blevins coming in to retire Bryce Harper on a line drive to deep right field. Terry Collins brought in Buddy Carlyle to get the final two outs to earn the save.
Carlyle would pitch just 11 games with the Mets that year before suffering hamstring & labrum muscle injuries ending his career.
It was just a taste of how the Mets would torture the Nationals during the year. They would win 11 of the 19 games head-to-head, but more importantly take eight of the last nine meetings in August & September overtaking Washington to win the NL Eastern Division.
The 2015 Mets would then beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS & sweep the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS getting to the World Series, where they fell to the Kansas City Royals, as the National League Champions.
