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David Wright’s first-inning two-run homer provided all the offense the Mets needed Monday afternoon, as New York cruised to a 7-1 Opening Day victory over the Florida Marlins.
Wright’s opposite-field blast just inside the right-field foul pole gave the Mets an early 2-0 lead, drawing first blood as the club improved to 32-17 in opening day matchups.
Mets’ ace Johan Santana dominated, giving up just one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out five. He took the no-hitter all the way into the third inning, yielding a one-out up-the-middle single on a 3-2 count to Gaby Sanchez to advance our NoNoHitters.com count for the first time the season. It now stands at 7,645 games without a no-no, at least until Wednesday evening.
Jeff Francoeur drove in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and a double, and newcomer Gary Matthews Jr. scored twice and reached base thrice with a double, single and a walk.
Other newbies also helped the Mets cause: Jason Bay went 2-for-4 with a single, triple and run scored, and Rod Barajas put in a 2-for-4 day with an RBI and a run scored.
Fernando Nieve pitched two innings of scoreless ball in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth to preserve the victory.
