The New York Mets (1-1) defeated the Kansas City Royals (1-1) by the final score of 2-0 this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. For a full boxscore recap follow the link below…

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2016_04_05_nynmlb_kcamlb_1#game=2016_04_05_nynmlb_kcamlb_1,game_tab=box,game_state=Wrapup

Game Notes:

• Noah Syndergaard was absolutely dominant this afternoon pitching 6 scoreless innings, only allowing 3 hits. He only walked 1 and struck out 9 batters this afternoon.
• Neil Walker was 2-4 this afternoon, with a 2-run home run.
• David Wright was 1-3 with 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases.
• Jim Henderson, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia combined to pitch 3 hitless innings to end the game, while combining to strike out 3. Familia recorded his first save of the season.

That was one hell of a performance by Noah Syndergaard this afternoon. When Alcides Escobar led the game off with a triple, you could almost imagine every Mets fan thinking, “here we go again.” But that wasn’t the case as Syndergaard struck out the side and pretty much cruised the rest of the afternoon besides for the sixth inning. In the sixth the Royals had him on the rocks, with the bases loaded and two outs, but he struck Kendrys Morales out with three straight pitches. Syndergaard is primed for a huge season, and as I said earlier this spring he just seems to grow and get better with every start he makes. Syndergaard’s slider is becoming a dominant pitch, as he only struck out eleven batters with it all last season, and today he struck out six Royals batters with the slider. That is a pitch he has worked hard on all spring and the results are showing early. Syndergaard also found it very amusing that the Royals played the song “American Woman” as he took the mound to start the game. 

It was nice to see Neil Walker as the hero this afternoon, a day after former Met Daniel Murphy played hero for the Washington Nationals. Walker hit a line drive to right field that got over the fence for a 2-run home run in the top of the 4th, which ultimately decided today’s game. Jim Henderson pitched the 7th inning this afternoon and was throwing gas. Henderson’s fastball topped out at 96 mph and he struck out two batters in his lone inning of work. It will be interesting to see how Terry Collins uses him this season to keep him healthy, as he could basically use Henderson and/or Hansel Robles both in the 7th inning. Jeurys Familia pitched a clean 9th and you’ve got to believe that felt good for him today after blowing three saves against the Royals in the World Series. The only area the Mets lacked in today was with runners in scoring position, as they were 0-7.

All in all a great win for the Mets as they head home for Friday’s big home opener at Citi Field. There is sure to be tons of emotion flying around the stadium, as the Mets will be recognized for their great season last season as National League Champions, and they will be facing another opponent who has been waiting for another crack at the Mets since last October. On September 30th in a meaningless game against the Phillies an all out war erupted which included four hit batters, seven wild pitches, the benches clearing, an incensed Larry Bowa, and two ejections. It will be an interesting series to watch this weekend to see if there is any carry over from the series at the end of last season. 

• The Mets are off Wednesday and Thursday, but take the field for the home opener on Friday afternoon at 1:10 pm et. The game can be seen on SNY and MLB Network.

• Pending the birth of his child, Jacob deGrom is scheduled to tote the rubber against Phillies young right-hander Jerad Eickhoff. If deGrom is unable to pitch, Bartolo Colon or Steven Matz will take the hill.