HOUSTON -- Juan Soto hit his first homer with the New York Mets, helping his new team beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Friday night. With two out in the third inning, Soto drove a 1-2 pitch from Hunter Brown deep to right for a solo shot that lifted New York to a 3-0 lead. Soto's 390-foot shot came a day after he struck out on a full-count slider from closer Josh Hader with two on and two out in a 3-1 opening-day loss. Before that, Soto singled and walked twice Thursday in his Mets debut. The slugger signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract as a free agent in December.
New York starter Tylor Megill (1-0) pitched five-plus innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits, struck out six, and walked one. Edwin Díaz struck out one in a perfect ninth for his first save, finishing a three-hitter. Brown (0-1) struck out seven in six innings. He allowed four hits and walked three. Mark Vientos hit an RBI double for New York in the second and scored on a single by Jesse Winker. Houston scored its only run in the fourth on Yordan Alvarez's sacrifice fly.
The Astros had a runner on first with one out in the eighth when Luisangel Acuña made a diving stop on Alvarez's grounder to second, popped up, and threw to first for the out. Houston was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
Key moment: The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but Reed Garrett struck out Alvarez before retiring Yainer Diaz on a fly ball to right-center.
Key stat: The Mets have won the last seven games started by Megill dating to August 30.
Up next: Houston's Spencer Arrighetti opposes Griffin Canning when the series wraps up Saturday night. Arrighetti looks to build on a strong rookie season when his 171 strikeouts were the third-most by a rookie in franchise history.
After slugging his first home run with the New York Mets on Friday night, Juan Soto insisted he isn’t burdened by the lofty expectations to perform after signing his record deal. “Just thinking about what we can do and what we can be capable of doing as a team I think it takes all the pressure off,” he said. “Because we are here. We are the New York Mets. I mean we’re not here as the Juan Soto Mets. We’re here as a team.”
Soto’s homer helped the Mets to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros. The shot came in the third. With two outs and no one on, Soto drove a 1-2 pitch from Hunter Brown deep to right to give New York a 3-0 lead. “It was pretty incredible,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not easy to do. You’re talking about a pitch that’s out of the strike zone, up and in. I think it’s a cutter 96 and he’s able to turn on it and hit it on a line like that — yeah, amazing.”
The 26-year-old Soto watched the ball as it sailed into the outfield and then slowly started walking toward first base before lightly flipping his bat. The homer traveled 390 feet. Asked if he knew it was gone right away, Soto grinned and said: “100%.” His first home run of the season comes after he hit a career-high 41 for the Yankees last season. “It’s always great to have the first one,” he said. “You always want to get the first one out of the way early.” He smiled slightly as he began to round the bases before pounding his chest and raising both of his hands skyward as he reached home plate.
His big hit came a day after he struck out on a full-count slider from Josh Hader that was way outside the strike zone with two on and two out in a 3-1 opening-day loss. Mendoza wasn’t surprised to see Soto bounce back after Thursday’s tough ending. “He’s Juan Soto, he’s gonna come through more times than not,” he said. “What you want is to give him and the guys a chance to win a baseball game. We did that yesterday and we didn’t get the W. Today, he came in and did what he did. He’s a special player.”
Before that, Soto singled and walked twice Thursday in his Mets debut. The slugger signed a $765 million, 15-year contract as a free agent in December. Soto struck out on his first at-bat Friday night before homering his second time up.
Tylor Megill ended last year on a roll, and Friday night resumed from that spot to begin his new season. The Mets would have liked to receive another inning from the right-hander to lessen the bullpen load, but at this early juncture of the season it’s a quibble. On this night Megill’s stuff was sharp and the Mets benefited. Megill’s performance, with an assist from the bullpen and Juan Soto’s thunder, helped the Mets get their first victory of the season, 3-1 over the Astros at Daikin Park.
Soto’s first homer in a Mets uniform, a solo blast against Hunter Brown in the third, was the offensive highlight. Megill, who won a rotation spot in spring training after Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea were sidelined with injuries, gave the Mets a chance by limiting the Astros to one run on three hits and one walk over five-plus innings.
“If I can go out and do what I did tonight and keep that going forward throughout the whole year I am going to be in good shape,” Megill said. “Obviously not five innings but getting deeper into games. Consistency is going to be the name of the game.”
It’s the same Megill the Mets saw beginning in late August last year following his return from Triple-A Syracuse. Over those final six starts, he pitched to a 2.32 ERA and helped the Mets secure a National League wild-card berth. “Early on tonight he was attacking — they hit some balls hard, but that is what we were asking him to do: throw strikes and stay on the attack,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
The Mets unveiled their high-leverage relievers, receiving a scoreless inning apiece from Reed Garrett, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek, and Edwin Diaz. Five hits were enough for the Mets, who built a 3-0 lead through three innings before letting their pitching handle the rest. Brandon Nimmo was caught dead in an attempted steal of second in the second inning, but Brendan Rodgers dropped Brown’s throw, after Brown had stepped off the rubber. Nimmo was safe and Mark Vientos’ ensuing double gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Jesse Winker followed with an RBI single.
Soto fell behind 1-2 in the count with two outs in the third but received a 96-mph cutter that he launched off the facing of the mezzanine in right field for his first Mets homer. It was a redeeming moment of sorts for the star outfielder: a day earlier Soto struck out against Josh Hader to end the game with the tying runs on base.
“When they scored that run, [Megill] kept making pitches and settling in nicely and limited the damage, which is something we also want to see,” Mendoza said. Cam Smith walked with one out in the fifth, but one pitch later Megill escaped the inning: Rodgers hit a grounder to Vientos that started a 5-4-3 double play. Brown struck out seven and walked three with four hits allowed over 96 pitches. Of the three runs he allowed, one was unearned. Megill, at 70 pitches, continued into the sixth. But after Jake Meyers reached first on a wild pitch on strike three and Altuve singled, Garrett was summoned.
Garrett walked Alvarez with one out to load the bases before striking out Walker and Diaz. The Mets showed resilience and depth, demonstrating their potential as they look to build on their first win of the season.
