Mets' Tylor Megill shatters expectations in Opening Day victory over Nationals

Megill, 26, came out firing bullets in the opening-inning against the Nationals, throwing the five fastest pitches of his career, maxing out at 99.1 mph on his four-seam fastball. Megill worked a 1-2-3 first inning with a pair of strikeouts and a soft grounder off the bat of superstar Juan Soto. 

One thing Megill has been lauded for throughout his brief time as a big-leaguer is his composure. Prior to this contest, Mets manager Buck Showalter mentioned Megill's ability to "stay within reality" and "low pulse" as two traits that impress him about the young starter. 

And these characteristics were on full display when he escaped tough jams in back-to-back innings. Megill twice erased prime scoring chances by the Nationals in the third-and-fourth. 

Megill first induced a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play with two men on and one-out in the third. And in the fourth inning, he got out of first-and-third trouble with one out by striking out Soto and getting Nelson Cruz to groundout.

Megill and Nationals left-handed starter Patrick Corbin matched each other with zeroes through four. Although the Mets were close to scoring their first run of the season in the top of the fourth, Pete Alonso was gunned down at the plate by Alcides Escobar while trying to score from first base on an Eduardo Escobar double. 

However, they would not be denied in the following inning. The Mets loaded the bases against Corbin, who proceeded to hit James McCann with a pitch to force in the first run of the ball game and season for New York.

That was all for Corbin, who exited the contest with the bases still loaded and nobody out. Reliever Victor Arano came onto replace him, allowing a run on Starling Marte's fielder's choice, but he was able to get out of the jam without giving up any additional damage beyond this play. 

Corbin's final line on the night was four innings, two earned runs on five hits, four strikeouts and two walks. The left-hander suffered the loss in this outing as the Nats' offense was unable to grab a lead at any point in this game. 

In the top of the sixth, the Mets' offense ignited a two-out rally after Alonso advanced to second base on a wild pitch from righty Austin Voth. Robinson Cano drew a walk, which then saw Mark Canha line an RBI single into left center to put the Mets up 3-0. Jeff McNeil went back-to-back with Canha for an RBI single of his own, which scored another run for the Mets.

Soto got the Nats' on the board with a solo home run off Trevor May in the bottom of the sixth. But the Mets would retaliate almost immediately. With the Mets up 4-1 in the top of the seventh, J.D. Davis led off with a double, before Francisco Lindor drove him home with an RBI single to the opposite field. 

Despite a slow start, the Mets' bats scored a total of five runs on the night. Cano, Alonso, McNeil and Canha all recorded two hits a piece. And minus McCann, each member of the Mets' starting lineup notched a hit. 

McCann was hit by two pitches in the game, and Alonso got hit near his shoulder/helmet flap area, which knocked him to the ground in the ninth. Alonso, who was seen spitting blood, tried to go to first base, but Showalter did not allow him to do so. Alonso later came back out to the dugout with an ice pack around his mouth area and appeared to be okay after this scary moment. 

The Mets hold the best record on Opening Day in MLB history. With Thursday evening's victory, they now improve to 40-21 all-time in their first game of the regular-season. 

Star pitcher Max Scherzer will take the mound against his old team on Friday night for the second game of the series. Scherzer, who has been dealing with a hamstring hiccup, was cleared to make his first scheduled start tomorrow after passing a fielding test.