Juan Soto Delivers First Home Run as a Met, Tylor Megill & Bullpen Combine for a Gem 3-1 Win Over Astros
The Mets evened their opening series on Friday night with a sharp 3–1 win over the Astros at Daikin Park, powered by Tylor Megill’s electric five-inning start, four scoreless frames from a lockdown bullpen, and a statement swing from Juan Soto that silenced the early-season noise.
Juan Soto Launches First of Many in Orange and Blue
Soto’s first home run as a Met was as calculated as it was explosive. After getting frozen by a sinker in his first at-bat, he returned to the dugout and checked in with Jesse Winker and Brett Baty on Hunter Brown’s approach.
Like what you see from Juan Soto, @Mets fans? pic.twitter.com/K5IJ5QG4Z7
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
“They told me, ‘He feels pretty comfortable with the cutter up and in,'” Soto said postgame. “I saw it really well. I follow my plan and I trust it.”
Brown went to it again in the third—96 mph and at the top of the zone. Soto turned on it, launching the ball 390 feet off the second deck in right field. The 100% no-doubt shot left the bat at 107.3 mph. He’d been hunting for the exact placement, and Mets fans saw the return on investment in real time.
“I know he likes the fastball,“ he continued. “I was trying to battle, just get the ball in play. But he left one right too close to my barrel, and I just hit it.”
Vientos and Winker Got it Going in the Second
Soto’s blast followed a two-run second inning that opened with Brandon Nimmo’s single and aggressive but intelligent baserunning. Mark Vientos drove in the first run with a short, inside-out swing on a 2-2 sinker for an RBI double down the line.
Winker, the master of working counts, followed with a clean knock up the middle to make it 2–0—the first Mets RBI of the 2025 season.
JESSE WINKER HAS HIS FIRST RBI OF 2025 AND THE METS LEAD 2-0! pic.twitter.com/m9mnyAGjgK
— MetsMuse (@MetsMuse) March 29, 2025
Cy-lor Megill’s Solid Five Innings
On the mound, Tylor Megill was ace-worthy. He filled the zone with 96–98 mph fastballs, landed his dirty slider with precision, and overpowered Houston’s top-of-the-order. He retired the first nine he faced and looked fully in command. His velocity held, his slider had bite, and his fastball command was crisp.
Tylor Megill stepped up big time today as he struck out six over 5.0 IP in his 2025 debut
Megill has always had excellent stuff, and it was on full display today. He will be relied upon by the Mets early in the season due to injuries, and he looks up to the task! pic.twitter.com/HGNL6BUzc6
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 29, 2025
Jose Altuve broke it up in the fourth with a single up the middle, and Isaac Paredes followed with a bouncer down the line to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
Yordan Alvarez brought in one with a sac fly, but Megill bounced back, ending the frame by getting Christian Walker and Jake Meyers on breaking balls that broke late and sharp.
His final line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K on 77 pitches.
Tylor Megill, Wicked 86mph Slider. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/6wdvZ2mOAo
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2025
Check Your Phone Blue, You’ve Got Some Missed Calls
Plate umpire Rob Drake should check his voicemail, given tonight’s missed calls. He missed a 100 mph fastball that clipped the outside edge to ring up Pete Alonso in the first, then gave Soto a long leash after a borderline sinker caught him looking. The strike zone was all over the place and absolutely inconsistent, and both dugouts took notice.
Bullpen Bridge to Diaz is Lethal
But the bullpen was untouchable. Reed Garrett stranded two in the sixth with a pair of strikeouts. He froze Paredes and got Walker to chase a slider low and away.
A.J. Minter made a clean Mets debut in the seventh. Ryne Stanek pitched around a leadoff walk in the eighth. And Edwin Díaz closed with vintage form—a 1-2-3 with 98 mph fastballs at the top of the zone, complemented by a devastating 92 mph slider with a late sweep: fifteen pitches, one strikeout, and a perfectly quiet ninth.
Edwin Díaz, Wipeout 92mph Slider. 🌊 pic.twitter.com/UVjdZ0zDha
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2025
Four relievers. Four hitless innings. Four strikeouts. The Garrett – Minter – Stanek bridge to Díaz sure is a lethal one.
Mets Look to Take Series in Houston Tomorrow with Canning on the Hill
The Mets leveled the series behind disciplined at-bats, high-octane pitching, and a long-anticipated Juan Soto moment that arrived early and almost on cue.
The New York Mets… pic.twitter.com/zbosyJLC7w
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 29, 2025
