Brandon Nimmo’s two-run double lifts Mets to Opening Day win over Marlins

MIAMI — The Opening Day matchup in Miami was exactly what you want to see as a baseball fan. Two aces were on the hill for the Mets and their NL East foes, the Miami Marlins.

Max Scherzer might be a decade older than reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara but he’s still one of the aces that other pitchers have to chase.

Neither pitcher gave a whole lot, and the Mets took what they could but still ended up tied at the end of the sixth inning. It was when they got to the Marlins’ bullpen that they were able to get some separation with a two-run double by Brandon Nimmo in the seventh inning to beat the Fish, 5-3, on Thursday at LoanDepot Park.

Mets fans were counting on Scherzer for a big outing to get the team off to a strong start. The day started with the news that Justin Verlander would be skipping his first two starts because of a teres major strain, and the club already lost closer Edwin Diaz and left-handed starter Jose Quintana during spring training.

All three of them signed hefty offseason contracts and fans began to panic, thinking all that money was going for naught and the World Series aspirations were slipping away before the team had even played an inning.

But Nimmo also signed a new contract over the winter, one that will likely make him a Met for life, and he delivered going 1-for-3 with three RBI, a walk, and a run scored. McNeil, who signed an extension to stay with the Mets through at least 2026 in January, went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Scherzer allowed three earned on four hits, walked two and struck out six over six innings to earn the win. Alcantara, who gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits, walked four, and struck out two over 5 2/3 innings of work, did not factor into the decision.

Nimmo’s double came off Tanner Scott (0-1).

“Just a slider that stayed over the plate,” Nimmo said. “I kind of dug it out a little bit and was able to get the barrel there. I was happy to see it fall and get past Jazz (Chisholm Jr.) and let the guys run. I was glad I was able to barrel the ball up there.”

In place of Diaz, the Mets turned to David Robertson to convert the save. In his Mets debut, the former Yankees closer pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first of the season. Drew Smith and left-hander Brooks Raley each pitched scoreless innings to keep the save in line for Robertson.

“You try to keep from using too many of your pieces, but who’s to say what a high-leverage piece is now?” manager Buck Showalter said. “The job has to be done by all of them.”

The Mets carried a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning but things quickly went downhill for Scherzer. Until then, the right-hander had been pounding the zone and pitching efficiently. But a leadoff double by Jacob Stallings changed the course of the game. Two batters later, Luis Arraez drove in Stallings with a double to the center field warning track, and with two out and one on, Garrett Cooper took Scherzer back into the stands to tie the game with a two-run homer.

“You have two outs and you think you’ll get out of it with only one run,” Scherzer said. “Unfortunately, I made a bad pitch and he hit a homer. That can get screwed up sometimes. You take it, learn from it and move on. Overall, pretty good.”

The Mets eked out three runs over six innings, with one in the third and the two in the sixth, when McNeil hit a perfectly placed single up the middle shortly after being assessed a strike call for a timeout that he didn’t call. Pete Alonso, who had walked ahead of him, didn’t get back to first base on time and McNeil took offense to the strike call. He retaliated by chopping a slider past a diving Joey Wendle and Arraez to score Starling Marte to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

The Mets have won 14 of their last 18 openers, including six of the last seven. Much like last season, they showed resolve and an ability to come back in the late innings. Their stars played like stars, and the role players like Robertson, Raley, and Smith made up for Diaz, the star the Mets will miss all year.

“Those are tough positions to come and fill,” Nimmo said. “When you sign those contracts and you come into spring training, you think you’re going to have this role and then it changes. I thought the guys showed a lot of mental fortitude and toughness today coming into those roles and accepting them and succeeding in them.”