Alvarez Shines in Mets Season Opener

Francisco Alvarez had a solid showing as the Mets’ No. 9 hitter, expressing his support for the team’s discipline rather than worrying about his batting order placement.

“When I saw the lineup, I thought, wow, what a strong group of hitters,” Alvarez shared via translator Alan Suriel, adding that he doesn’t expect to stay at the bottom of the order for long.

In the Mets’ opener against the Pirates, which ended in an 11-7 victory at Citi Field, Alvarez not only excelled defensively—allowing just one run—but also made an impact with his bat, hitting three pitches and giving up two hits, though one of them was a notable home run that soared into the left field second deck.

Having come up through a robust system, Alvarez has developed into one of baseball’s top prospects. His powerful swinging was only occasionally visible in his 304 major league games across four seasons. After being sent down mid-season last year, he returned late July with an adjusted batting stance and soon became one of the league’s premier hitters, even after suffering a thumb injury.

In this game, he reached base three times out of five at-bats, kicking things off with a single to right and then belting back-to-back home runs to left in the sixth inning against Carson Benge.

The day, overall, was promising for Pittsburgh’s pitchers, who threw 192 pitches while allowing 11 runs over eight innings. Yet, at 24, Alvarez stood out amid a long and challenging lineup of at-bats.

“I really feel good,” he commented on his swing. “I managed to keep my mechanics tight, concentrating on my work and remaining consistent.”

While Alvarez’s performance with the bat shone, his mental acuity may have had an even bigger influence on the game’s outcome.

During the top of the third, with the score at 5-2 in favor of the Mets, pitcher Freddy Peralta appeared to lose O’Neal Crews with a walk on a full-count fastball. Alvarez recognized how tricky that pitch was for home plate umpire Adrian Johnson to see.

“I called for a fastball outside, but Freddie missed it and it came inside instead,” Alvarez explained, recalling how he had to adjust his glove to signal the missed pitch. “That makes it tough for the umpires.”

Noticing the pitch closely, Alvarez even touched the catcher’s mask, signaling the Mets’ first automatic ball-strike challenge.

“I felt pretty confident,” he said, adding that reviewing the play showed that Cruz had actually been struck out instead.

This challenge likely saved the Mets a run; just two pitches later, instead of allowing two runs, Peralta gave up a solo shot to Brandon Lowe.