(2025) Pete Alonso HRs Leading the Mets to Another Home Opener Victory
"Steady Eddie" Honored: On this Opening Day before the game, the Mets honored original Met & 1969 World Champion Ed Kranepool. In 1962 the 17-year-old Bronx born "Kid Kranepool" was brought up to Casey Stengel's original Mets & would play his entire 18-year career with the Mets.
Kranepool was a member of the 1969 Amazing Mets, winning a World Series & two pennants with the team. Ed even has a World Series HR to his credits. In the later years of his career Eddie was one of the game's best inch hitters as well.
Sarah Seaver Remembered: The Mets also held a moment of silence for Sarah Seaver, Tom Seaver's daughter who had a big part in getting the Seaver Statue erected outside Citi Field. In February Sarah passed away at age 53 from lung cancer.
The big home Opener was the highly anticipated debut of Juan Soto at Citi Field as well.
The 2025 home season opened up with Tylor Megill retiring the first three Jays in order.
In the bottom of the 1st, Francisco Lindor strolled to the plate with his now popular Temptations Walk up song "My Girl" with the Citi Field fans sing along & beyond. Lindor then thrilled the crowd stretching a base hit to centerfield into a double.
As Juan Soto made his Citi Field debut, he was greeted warmly by the fans but popped out to second base.
As a happy Alonso rounded the bases, the fans cheered & after getting congrads from his teammates in the dugout, he came out for a curtain call.
Quotes Pete Alonso: "That type of stuff is what you dream about as a kid & to have that type of support being reciprocated is really special. I enjoyed every second of it".
Pete Alonso Trivia: For Alonso it was his third HR of the season as he now has ten RBIs. Two days earlier, Alonso hit a three-run 8th inning HR in South Florida to tie up the game which the Mets went on to the win in extra innings. Four days earlier he led the Mets to victory with a grand slam in South Florida as well. Overall, it was also Alonso's 229th career HR just 23 short of Darryl Strawberry's franchise record.
shutting out the Jays with just two hits, striking out four & walking three. Two of those walks came in the 6th inning, as he was relieved by Reed Garrett.
Garrett struck out Andres Gimenez & Alejandro Kirk to get out of the inning. Garrett would earn his second hold of the season keeping his ERA at 0.00.
In the bottom of the 6th, Francisco Lindor walked & was brought in by Juan Soto as Soto collected his first Citi Field hit in a Mets uniform with a double to right field.
The Mets bullpen of A.J. Minter (one inning) & Max Kranick (two innings) completed the combined shut out. The Mets went above .500 starting out the year at 4-3.
Home Opener Trivia: The Mets are now 42-22 in franchise home opening games, having won 12 of the 15 home openers at Citi Field.