The New York Mets capitalize on Washington's mistakes and defeat them 3-1 on Opening Day. Thank you for those who tuned in, stay with VAVEL USA for all MLB action throughout the season.
Final: New York Mets 3 Washington Nationals 1
6:45 PM EST: Buddy Carlyle gets Ramos to ground out to Flores and the ball game is OVER.
6:43 PM EST: Ryan Zimmerman grounds out to Flores at SS. 2 down, 1 to go
*Buddy Carlyle in to pitch for the New York Mets
6:38 PM EST: Harper hits one hard but right to Granderson in RF. 1 out
*Jerry Blevins in to pitch for the New York Mets
Bottom of the 9th Inning
6:34 PM EST: Granderson lines one sharply to Uggla at 2B but makes a nice play to get the out.
*Matt Thornton in to pitch for the Washington Nationals
6:30 PM EST: Mayberry works a full count and draws a walk. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs
*John Mayberry Jr. to pinch hit for Jeurys Familia
6:27 PM EST: Flores strikes out on three pitches. Runner on 1st, 2 outs
6:25 PM EST: Travis d'Arnaud with a line-drive single to RF. Runner on 1st, 1 out
6:24 PM EST: Juan Lagares grounds out softly to 2B. 1 out
*Aaron Barrett in to pitch for the Washington Nationals
Top of the 9th Inning
6:21 PM EST: Mets' bullpen holds strong as Yunel Escobar grounds out to SS. On to the 9th inning we go!
6:20 PM EST: Familia is just filthy. Another strikeout as he gets Taylor chasing. 2 outs
6:18 PM EST: Familia strikes out pinch hitter and former Met Matt den Dekker. 1 out
*Jeurys Familia in to pitch for New York
Bottom of the 8th Inning
6:12 PM EST: Daniel Murphy grounds out to Zimmerman at 1B and Washington escapes more damage. Runners stranded at 1st and 2nd
*Xavier Cedeno in to pitch for the Nationals
6:06 PM EST: Cuddyer swings at the first pitch and singles to RF. Duda to 2nd. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs
6:05 PM EST: Duda hits a squibber to the left side against the shift for a single. Runner on 1st, 2 outs
6:04 PM EST: Wright also flies one out to RF. 2 outs
6:03 PM EST: Granderson flies out to RF. 1 out
Top of the 8th Inning
6:00 PM EST: Another ground ball to Wilmer Flores and Torres picks up right where Colon left off.
5:58 PM EST: Uggla swings at the first pitch and grounds out to Flores at SS. 2 outs
5:58 PM EST: Daniel Murphy makes the back-hand look easy. 1 out
*RHP Carlos Torres coming in to pitch for the New York Mets
Bottom of the 7th Inning
5:52 PM EST: Nieuwenhuis strikes out on a fastball to end the Mets' threat. STRETCH TIME
*Kirk Nieuwenhuis to pinch hit for Bartolo Colon
5:51 PM EST: Flores pops out to 1B in foul territory. Runner at 3rd, 2 outs
5:49 PM EST: Travis d'Arnaud hammers one off the CF fence and the Mets capitalize again on an error. Lagares scores. Runner at 3rd, 1 out
5:47 PM EST: Lagares hits one hard to Desmond who throws one low to 1B, Lagares safe at first. Runner at 1st, 1 out
5:46 PM EST: Murphy is retired on a fly out to Taylor. 1 out
Top of the 7th Inning
5:43 PM EST: Bartolo Colon gets himself out of another jam, this time with a strikeout of Ramos, his 8th K of the game. Runners stranded at 1st and 2nd
5:39 PM EST: Zimmerman works a two out walk. Runners at 1st and 2nd, 2 outs
5:36 PM EST: Bryce Harper gets his second hit of the game with a single up the middle. Runner at 1st, 2 outs
5:34 PM EST: Ball lined hard right to 1B Lucas Duda. 2 outs
5:33 PM EST: Taylor grounds one right to Wright. 1 out
Bottom of the 6th Inning
5:30 PM EST: Cuddyer strikes out but we have ourselves a ball game here on Opening Day! Runner stranded at 1st
5:28 PM EST: Lucas Duda gets the first hit of the game for the Mets as he lines one into RF. Granderson and Wright score. Runner on 1st, 2 outs
5:25 PM EST: Wright pops one high to shallow RF and confusion between Uggla and Desmond causes the ball to drop. Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs
5:24 PM EST: Granderson walks for the 2nd time today. Runner on 1st, 2 outs
5:23 PM EST: Scherzer strikes out Colon. 2 outs
5:22 PM EST: Flores lifts a fly ball to CF. 1 out
Top of the 6th Inning
5:19 PM EST: Bartolo Colon strikes out the side in the bottom of 5th inning. What a performance from this 41 year old.
5:18 PM EST: COLON AGAIN WITH A STRIKEOUT. 2 outs
5:17 PM EST: Colon gets another K striking out Dan Uggla. 1 out
Bottom of the 5th Inning
5:13 PM EST: Scherzer strikesout d'Arnaud for his 5th of the game and has retired 15 straight batters.
5:12 PM EST: Lagares strikesout and Scherzer is rolling. 2 outs
5:11 PM EST: Murphy flies one to Taylor in CF. Mets still hitless. 1 out
Top of the 5th Inning
5:08 PM EST: Ian Desmond grounds out to Wright at 3rd for the second time today to end the inning.
5:05 PM EST: Ramos grounds out to SS. 2 outs
5:04 PM EST: Colon comes right back and strikes out Zimmerman. 1 out
5:02 PM EST: BRYCE HARPER breaks the scoreless tie with a HR to right-center field
Bottom of the 4th Inning
5:00 PM EST: Michael Cuddyer grounds out to 2B and Scherzer hasn't given up a hit through 4
4:58 PM EST: Duda pops one up to Desmond in foul territory. 2 outs
4:57 PM EST: Ryan Zimmerman makes a nice play to rob Wright of a base hit. 1 out
Top of the 4th Inning
4:53 PM EST: Escobar grounds one to Murphy again but the second basemen makes the play this time to end the inning
4:52 PM EST: Taylor pops one up to Granderson in RF and Bartolo Colon is looking sharp early. 2 outs
4:51 PM EST: Colon strikes out Scherzer to begin the frame. 1 out
Bottom of the 3rd Inning
4:47 PM EST: Granderson grounds out to 2B to end the top of the 3rd
4:46 PM EST: Bartolo Colon makes contact but flies it to CF. 2 outs
4:46 PM EST: Wilmer Flores chases the high heat. 1 out
Top of the 3rd Inning
4:43 PM EST: Tyler Moore flies one to 2014 CF Gold Glove winner Juan Lagares and Colon matches Scherzers' quick inning with one of his own
4:41 PM EST: Dan Uggla pops one up to Wilmer Flores in shallow left field. 2 outs
4:39 PM EST: Ian Desmond grounds one out to Wright. 1 out
Bottom of the 2nd Inning
4:37 PM EST: Travis d'Arnaud grounds out to 3B and Scherzer has himself a quick inning.
4:36 PM EST: Juan Lagares strikes out. 2 outs
4:34 PM EST: Daniel Murphy flies out to centerfield. 1 out
Top of the 2nd Inning
4:32 PM EST: Wilson Ramos grounds another ball to 2nd baseman Murphy who redeems himself and gets Colon out of the inning. Runners stranded at 1st and 2nd
4:30 PM EST: Zimmerman strikes out as well and Colon is looking to get out of danger. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs
4:27 PM EST: Colon gets Bryce Harper to strike out on a fastball. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out
4:24 PM EST: Yunel Escobar grounds one to Daniel Murphy who commits a throwing error to first. Runners on 1st and 2nd, 0 outs
4:22 PM EST: Michael Taylor grounds one up the middle for a base hit. Runner on 1st, 0 outs
Bottom of the 1st Inning
4:18 PM EST: Cuddyer grounds out to the 3B Escobar to end the inning. Runner stranded at 1st
4:16 PM EST: Lucas Duda strikes out on 4 pitches. Runner on 1st, 2 outs
4:14 PM EST: David Wright pops out to 1B in foul territory. Runner on 1st, 1 out
4:11 PM EST: Granderson fights off some tough pitches and works a lead off walk. Runner on 1st, 0 outs
4:09 PM EST: Curtis Granderson steps in and we are underway in our nations' capital!
Top of the 1st Inning
We are about 30 minutes away from first pitch at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. for this match-up between two NL East division foes. My name is Karl Capen and I will be your host for this live commentary from the first pitch until the final out. Opening Day for MLB is here folks! LETS GO!
The New York Mets have a .642 winning percentage on Opening Day which is the best in the MLB.
David Wright has a career .361 average with 4 homeruns and 11 RBIs on Opening Day.
Mets' 3B David Wright is making his 11th consecutive Opening Day start today, which ties Bud Harrelson for the longest streak in New York Mets' history.
And on the mound for the Nationals: Max Scherzer
(1) CF Michael Taylor (2) 3B Yunel Escobar (3) RF Bryce Harper (4) 1B Ryan Zimmerman (5) C Wilson Ramos (6) SS Ian Desmond (7) 2B Dan Uggla (8) LF Tyler Moore (9) P Max Scherzer
The Washington Nationals lineup is as follows:
And on the mound for the Mets: Bartolo Colon
(1) RF Curtis Granderson (2) 3B David Wright (3) 1B Lucas Duda (4) LF Michael Cuddyer (5) 2B Daniel Murphy (6) CF Juan Lagares (7) C Travis d'Arnaud (8) SS Wilmer Flores (9) P Bartolo Colon
The visiting New York Mets lineup looks like this:
Newly inducted MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch of this game at Nationals' Park.
The Washington Nationals will be missing three of their everyday players off from last year's 96-win team due to injury. CF Denard Span, 3B Anthony Rendon, and LF Jayson Werth will not be in the lineup for Washington to start off the season.
41 year old Bartolo Colon will make the Opening Day start for the New York Mets, the oldest pitcher to start Opening Day in Mets' history. The last time the Mets' sent a 40+ year old to the mound on Opening Day? Tom Glavine in 2006, the last year they went to the playoffs.
New York lost left-handed reliever Josh Edgin for the season after he needed Tommy John surgery as well. After an inactive offseason, the Mets' traded for both San Diego Padres LHP Alex Torres and Washington Nationals' LHP Jerry Blevins on the same day to fill that left-handed reliever need in the bullpen. NYM will carry Torres, Blevins, and Sean Gilmartin into Opening Day as their lefties out of the bullpen.
One thing Mets' fans need to praise Alderson for is what he has done with the farm system. The New York Mets have some of the most talented young pitchers in both MLB and MiLB. This pitching depth will play a huge role in 2015 as they lost young flamethrower Zack Wheeler for the season to a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery. Veteran Dillon Gee will replace Wheeler in the rotation to begin the season with Rafael Montero in the bullpen and Steven Matz, Noah Syndergaard waiting in the helms at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Besides the signing of OF Michael Cuddyer early in free agency, the Mets had a very quiet offseason. Much heat has come over Alderson on his inability to sign or trade for a new, more "reliable" shortstop. The SS incumbent, though, Wilmer Flores, told the media that, "they're (Nationals) a good team...we have a good team, too."
The New York Mets, on the other hand, are coming into the 2015 season with a 9 year playoff drought. Last time the Mets were in the playoffs? October 19th, 2006, Game 7 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. With such a long stretch without the taste of the postseason, Mets' fans are beginning to get restless. But 2015 could be start of the long rebuilding process GM Sandy Alderson created finally paying off.
This also could be the last shot the Nationals have with this current core of players at a World Series title. Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmerman, Doug Fister, and Denard Span are all free agents at the end of the 2015 season and there is very little hope that these players will resign. Zimmerman was rumored about all offseason in possible trade talks, along with Desmond.
The Nationals don't want to look too much into all those predictions. Shortstop Ian Desmond told the media, "we're worried about winning the first series - the first series of the season." It is a long 6 month season and a lot can happen between now and then. Desmond and his teammates want to focus on the present and let anything that happens in October, stay in October and not worry about it in early April.
One of the main reasons people are predicting the Nationals is because of their starting rotation. Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister, and the new $210 million dollar man Max Scherzer, who will get the Opening Day start today vs. the Mets. All five of those names strike fear into opposing hitters and experts have no doubt this is the best pitching rotation in all of baseball.
It is once again that time to look at every expert's and baseball fan's prediction on who will take home the World Series trophy. The team at the top of almost everybody's list are the Washington Nationals. Washington finished the 2014 season with a record of 96-66 and ran away with the NL East title, finishing 17 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets who tied for second-place. The Nationals lost in the NLDS to the eventual World Series Champions, San Francisco Giants.
Hello and welcome all to VAVEL USA's exclusive play-by-play live commentary between the New Yorks Mets and the Washington Nationals. This game marks the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season for both teams. Both the Mets and the Nationals come into the season riding high hopes of making a deep run into October. These National League East rivals look to start the off the 6 month long season on the right foot. Follow throughout the afternoon and into the evening as VAVEL USA brings you live coverage and recaps of all today's Opening Day 2015 action.