Behind Griffin Canning, Mets face Astros in series finale

Having entered Opening Day with a pair of starters -- left-hander Sean Manaea and right-hander Frankie Montas -- sidelined by injuries, the New York Mets were forced to piece together a rotation that didn't match the grand vision set after their offseason moves were completed.

But after Clay Holmes, a converted reliever making his first start since 2018, delivered a solid effort on Thursday, Tylor Megill worked five-plus solid innings in the Mets' 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Friday, setting the stage for an interleague series rubber match on Saturday night.

Megill and Griffin Canning were the beneficiaries of Manaea and Montas being unavailable to start the season. Two games into the schedule, the Mets can't balk at the results.

"We feel really good about it," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "We got the guys in there that are going to give us a chance to win baseball games day in and day out. So we feel good with that."

Canning (6-13, 5.19 ERA with the Los Angeles Angels in 2024) will start the series finale for the Mets on Saturday. The right-hander signed as a free agent with the Mets in December after going 25-34 with a 4.78 ERA over 99 career appearances (94 starts) with the Angels. He finished 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA in four spring training appearances with the Mets.

Canning is 0-3 with a 6.69 ERA over nine career starts against the Astros. He did not factor into the decision of a 9-8 road win against them last Sept. 22 after allowing four runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-13, 4.53 ERA in 2024) is the scheduled starter for the Astros on Saturday. Among American League rookies last season, he finished tied for first in strikeouts (171) and quality starts (10), was first in strikeouts per nine innings (10.61), and third in wins and innings (145). He went 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA to earn AL Rookie of the Month honors last August.

Considering the turnover of their lineup, the Astros are sure to be under the microscope on offense this season. Two games into the schedule, they have 10 hits, all singles.

Christian Walker struck out twice on Friday, including with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth. Isaac Paredes, another offseason addition, took a called third strike with runners on the corners for the first out of the sixth. Brendan Rodgers went 0-for-3 and hit into a double play.

In addition to the early lack of power, the Astros have 17 strikeouts against nine walks.

"I tell you what I like. I like the nine walks in two days," manager Joe Espada said. "You can go back to last year and tell me when we walked nine times in two days. I'll take that.

"Do that throughout the season, you're going to find yourself in good hitters' counts, and then you start getting a lot of runs scored."

--Field Level Media