Mets have retained their winning vibe from last season
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) runs out his RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Citi Field on Sunday, April 6, 2025. Credit: Brad Penner
It didn’t take very long for the Mets to rekindle their 2024 mojo. They swept the Blue Jays on opening weekend at Citi Field in every way possible, twice by the slimmest of margins, and finished it off with Sunday’s 2-1 squeaker.
Pete Alonso’s RBI single and Brandon Nimmo’s sacrifice fly were all the bullpen needed to back an ailing David Peterson, who at one point hunched over at the back of the mound, thinking he might lose his breakfast.
But these Mets, just like the post-Memorial Day marauders from last season, already have displayed the same winning knack for keeping things together. The difference this year? The vibe is immaculate from the jump, and much to the delight of owner Steve Cohen, there’s been way more fans in the building to enjoy the Mets’ 6-3 start (a light-year leap from the 0-5 kickoff at Citi Field last April).
Alonso, who was reintroduced to a hero’s welcome before Friday’s home opener, outshined Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all weekend, reestablishing who the real Flushing favorite is after the Jays’ slugger loomed as a potential replacement during an anxiety-filled winter.
The Mets’ banged-up rotation proved sturdy enough and the airtight bullpen — highlighted by its new folk hero, the super-stingy Max Kranick — made sure the plus-two-run differential on Saturday and Sunday was enough to finish off the back end of the three-game sweep.
“This team is just pesky and determined and they never give up,” said newbie A.J. Minter, the former relief ace for the enemy in Atlanta. “They’re just resilient.”
As for his first taste of Citi Field, at least while wearing orange-and-blue?
“It lived up to the hype for sure,” Minter said. “Super-pumped to get out in front of these fans. It’s good to be on this side of these fans now.”
Ah, yes. About those fans. Remember when Cohen rankled the Flushing faithful during spring training by expressing “disappointment” in last year’s home attendance, which ranked 18th in the majors with 28,757 per game? Well, it appears that trend is reversing in a hurry. This opening series, against an interleague opponent with zero rivalry juice, drew a total gate of 121,771 — demolishing the first three games against the Brewers last season (94,655), nearly a 30% spike overall. And they all packed the place in chilly weather that felt more like late November than early April.
“Unbelievable,” Nimmo said. “The fans really showed up this first weekend and we are so appreciative of that. We feed off their energy. And, you know, Steve and Alex [Cohen] and David [Stearns] obviously did their job this offseason and got guys to excite the fans and really put us in a good position to win this year. The fans answered that call and showed up. I’m so happy to see that.”
Cohen gave Juan Soto a record 15-year, $765 million contract to make him the next-generation centerpiece of his rebranded Mets, and there’s no doubt that signing paid off at the box office. Bringing back Alonso, the beloved Polar Bear, for at least one year (on a $30 million salary) also was part of the blueprint to not only improve the Mets’ World Series chances but increase their drawing power.
The final component, of course, is actually winning, and the Mets are doing a pretty good job of that, too — just not in the fashion anyone imagined. Their Soto-boosted lineup has yet to find its stride, with Alonso the only standout performer so far, and the bottom half is desperate to get back Jeff McNeil (oblique) and Francisco Alvarez (hand surgery) from the injured list. The Mets are hitting .197 with a .638 OPS while averaging 3.6 runs per game, numbers that dramatically illustrate just how much heavy lifting the pitching staff is doing early on.
“That shows you we’re a good team,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We continue to find ways to get the job done. That’s what it’s all about at this level.”
Sunday required another monster effort from the relief corps, not only to bail out the nauseous Peterson but Mendoza as well. The manager made the questionable decision to stick with the failing Peterson after watching him walk Guerrero to put two runners on in the fifth and appear as if he were going to hurl off the other side of the mound.
That immediately brought out Mendoza and the trainer — apparently Peterson’s vision also went blurry — but after a warm-up toss, they let him stay in with the game on the line. A five-pitch walk to Anthony Santander loaded the bases, and after another visit by pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, Peterson drilled Andres Gimenez to force in a run.
Finally, Mendoza went to Kranick, who’s quickly become the Mets’ resident fire extinguisher. He immediately got Alejandro Kirk to pop up, then fired a perfect sixth to set up the late-inning bridge to Edwin Diaz.
Both Kranick and Reed Garrett have stranded all six of their inherited runners this season — tops in the majors — while helping the relief corps post baseball’s best ERA (1.29).
“I’m just really stoked we were able to come out on top,” Alonso said. “You really get to see the character and the grit when it comes down to crunch time.”
Looks awfully familiar, doesn’t it? But this year it’s with more believers in the ballpark — and fewer empty seats.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
