Mets held to one hit in loss to Astros, but newbie Griffin Canning impresses
Mets starting pitcher Griffin Canning throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning of a game Saturday in Houston. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip
HOUSTON — Zoomed in, the Mets’ 2-1 loss to the Astros on Saturday night was a definite bummer for them. They dropped the season-opening series, Francisco Lindor remained hitless atop a lineup that managed one hit in this contest and has been quiet, and more good work from the bullpen went for naught.
In the bigger picture of their hopes and dreams and expensive plans this year, however, there was a particular reason for optimism: Griffin Canning, signed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract in the offseason, flashed evidence of why the Mets found him intriguing.
Canning’s final line was solid if not spectacular — 5 2⁄3 innings, two runs, four hits — but enabled by team decision-makers, he embraced a simple-sounding philosophy that nonetheless is new to him. He threw his best pitch the most often, and he found success by doing so.
Leaning heavily on his slider, Canning held Houston scoreless into the fifth inning.
“It’s a really good one to build off,” he said. “They were telling me they weren’t seeing it very well, so I figured I’d [keep throwing] it.”
And so he did, using his slider 54% of the time — more than double his average last season and the highest single-game rate of his career.
Two particular sliders did him in, turning into Jeremy Pena’s home run in the fifth and Yordan Alvarez’s game-deciding double in the sixth. But it was largely that pitch that got Griffin that far at all — and it was part of the reason the Mets sought to add him to their rotation.
“The slider was good, the changeup was good, the velo,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “When you look at the first couple of innings, the fastball was up to 96 [mph], something that we didn’t see in spring training. And he kept attacking, he kept mixing his pitches. I thought overall he had a good outing.
“With him throwing that hard, spinning the ball and changing speeds the way he’s capable, we got something there.”
With the Angels in years past, Griffin said, the mandate was to work off his fastball, which historically is the norm. That didn’t work for him. He had a 5.19 ERA in 171 2⁄3 innings last season.
During spring training, Griffin took to heart wisdom from assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel: “You have to know what your backbone is, what you’re going to lean on, and go from there.” For Griffin, that is his slider and changeup. His secondary pitches should be his primary pitches.
“I don’t think [the advice is] don’t throw your fastball,” Canning said. “But it’s, hey, these pitches are really good, why not lean on these?
“It’s nice to have them show that confidence in me. That’s what they want me to go out there and do. It makes it a little easier on me.”
Not making it easier on Canning: The lineup’s dearth of scoring.
Juan Soto had the Mets’ only hit, a double off the leftfield wall in the first inning. Jose Siri manufactured their only run, including a daring dash home on Soto’s groundout to the pitcher in the sixth inning.
The Mets totaled five runs in three games against the Astros. Lindor went 0-for-11 with three strikeouts.
“You gotta give credit to Houston. They pitched very well,” he said. “From our point of view, from our offense, I would say I gotta do a way better job to be on base and to make things happen. Once I do that, the offense is going to continue to get better.”
Into his fifth season with the Mets, Lindor has been followed by a narrative that he is susceptible to slow starts. That is only partially true. But on the heels of a great 2024 in which he finished second in the NL MVP voting despite hitting .197 with a .639 OPS through April, the questions are beginning to pop up again.
What can Lindor do to avoid a full-blown season-opening slump?
“That’s a fantastic question,” he said. “I’m sure everyone is asking that. And I’m sure everyone is trying to figure it out. And I’m right there with everyone. I don’t know. I guess I gotta put the ball in play. Focus on not hitting it to the opposing players.
“I just continue to work, put my head down and grind. Hopefully this is not a month-long thing.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
