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MLB Opening Day 2025: Full schedule, dates, times and matchups originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s officially baseball season.

After weeks of spring training, MLB teams across the country are gearing up for Opening Day — and two have already played their first game over in Japan. While it may still be chilly in some cities in late March, warmer days are ahead — and baseball is a sure sign of it.

So, when exactly are the first games of the new season? Who is playing on Opening Day? And where can you watch all the games?

Here’s a preview for 2025 MLB Opening Day:

When is MLB Opening Day in 2025?

MLB Opening Day is officially scheduled for March 27, 2025.

The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs got a head start on the action with the MLB Tokyo Series in Japan, starting on March 18 with the Dodgers’ victory.

What teams are playing on Opening Day in 2025?

Twenty-eight of the 30 teams will be playing on Opening Day, including the Dodgers and Cubs.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies are the only two teams who won’t suit up on March 27. Their opening series will begin the following day at the Rays’ temporary home of George M. Steinbrenner Field.

2025 MLB Opening Day schedule, games and probable starters

Here are the 14 matchups and probable starting pitchers for Opening Day:

Away team	Home team	Pitching matchup	First pitch time
Milwaukee Brewers	New York Yankees	Freddy Peralta vs. Carlos Rodon	3 p.m. ET
Baltimore Orioles	Toronto Blue Jays	Zach Eflin vs. Jose Berrios	3:07 p.m. ET
Philadelphia Phillies	Washington Nationals	Zack Wheeler vs. MacKenzie Gore	4:05 p.m. ET
Boston Red Sox	Texas Rangers	Garrett Crochet vs. Nathan Eovaldi	4:05 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Pirates	Miami Marlins	Paul Skenes vs. Sandy Alcantara	4:10 p.m. ET
San Francisco Giants	Cincinnati Reds	Logan Webb vs. Hunter Greene	4:10 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Angels	Chicago White Sox	Yusei Kikuchi vs. Sean Burke	4:10 p.m. ET
Cleveland Guardians	Kansas City Royals	TBA vs. Cole Ragans	4:10 p.m. ET
New York Mets	Houston Astros	Clay Holmes vs. Framber Valdez	4:10 p.m. ET
Atlanta Braves	San Diego Padres	Chris Sale vs. Michael King	4:10 p.m. ET
Minnesota Twins	St. Louis Cardinals	Pablo Lopez vs. Sonny Gray	4:10 p.m. ET
Detroit Tigers	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tarik Skubal vs. TBA	7 p.m. ET
Chicago Cubs	Arizona Diamondbacks	TBA vs. TBA	10:10 p.m. ET
Athletics	Seattle Mariners	Luis Severino vs. Logan Gilbert	10:10 p.m. ET

How to watch MLB Opening Day 2025

Two games will air nationally on Opening Day: Brewers-Yankees and Tigers-Dodgers.

The two pennant winners from last season will both host Central division interleague foes.

First up, the Brewers travel to Yankees Stadium at 3 p.m. ET with Joe Buck on the call alongside Joe Girardi and Bill Schroeder. The “Monday Night Football” broadcaster hasn’t called an MLB game nationally since joining ESPN, but he was formerly the voice of FOX’s World Series coverage continuously from 2000 to 2021.

In the nightcap at 7 p.m. ET, reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will face the defending World Series winners. The Dodgers picked up a win in Tokyo in their season-opener with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, but their starting pitcher for Opening Day stateside is still to be announced.

MLB Tokyo Series: Ohtani and Yamamoto lead Dodgers to 4-1 win over Cubs in opener originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

TOKYO — For a moment, it felt like all of Japan held its collective breath. The Tokyo Dome, known throughout the globe for its energy and electric atmosphere, fell silent as the sheeted dead. Then, as Shohei Ohtani’s bat connected on a curveball, the crowd erupted. 

Shohei Ohtani, an international megastar playing on his home soil for the first time as a major leaguer, delivered the hit that jolted the Los Angeles Dodgers to life, setting the stage for the team’s thrilling 4-1 comeback over the Chicago Cubs in the opening game of the 2025 MLB season.

The journey to Opening Day was nearly a year in the making as both teams traveled over 6,000 miles for this moment. None of the other 28 teams in Major League Baseball had to travel across the world to play two games before heading all the way back across the Pacific Ocean for more exhibition games. 

No one else had to arrive a week early to spring training, break camp early, disrupt their lives and routines for a couple of games on the other side of the world. But nobody else is Shohei Ohtani and the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

In front of a packed house, in a city that is buzzing with baseball fever, two historic franchises clashed under the Tokyo lights. The 2025 MLB Tokyo Series was a celebration of Japanese baseball at its finest. Five Japanese-born players were on the active rosters and will play in the series.

Even though this was a series between two of baseball’s iconic franchises, it was still the Shohei Ohtani show. 

Ohtani is more than just famous in his home country. He’s an A-list celebrity, a rock star and a cultural icon all rolled into one. During the two-game series, over a dozen different commercials featuring Ohtani flashed across TV screens in Tokyo. His face is featured on billboards, taxi cabs, subway trains, storefront windows and more. 

Each and every time Ohtani stepped to the plate, fans roared and cheered. They all took out their phones to record his every movement and held their collective breath during each pitch. They oohed and aahed at every ball he put into play and gasped when he struck out.

So, after the flags were unfurled and the national anthems, played by Japanese musician Yoshiki, were completed, after the Pokemon introductions and the plethora of Pikachu’s danced across the diamond, there was finally baseball being played in 2025.

For the first time since the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 30, the games actually counted, and LA’s title defense has officially begun.

Ohtani finished the game 2-for-5 with a single, a double and two runs scored. His first hit of the 2025 season, a line drive to right field, came in the top of the fifth inning. 

Tommy Edman tied the game with a line drive to left field, and Ohtani scored the go-ahead run on an errant throw by Cubs second baseman Jon Berti. 

Teoscar Hernandez added an insurance run in the top of the ninth.

That would be all the Dodgers would need as their pitching staff did the rest. Anthony Banda, Ben Casparius, Blake Treinen, and free agent acquisition Tanner Scott combined for four shutout innings with the latter earning his first save in Dodger blue.

Dodgers’ starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto knows what it’s like to travel across the world to pitch in a baseball game. He’s no longer a rookie with the weight of the world on his shoulders. After a dominant postseason in which he was the ace of the Dodgers injury riddled World Series-winning pitching staff, Yamamoto has emerged as the ace of this year’s staff.

Yamamoto’s three-pitch mix of fastball, curveball and splitter kept the Cubs hitters off-balance all night long. His only blemish was an RBI double to Miguel Amaya in the bottom of the second. 

In a polar opposite performance from his first start of the 2024 season, Yamamoto allowed just one run on three hits with four strikeouts in five innings. He seized the opportunity in his home country and earned the win over his fellow countryman Shota Imanaga in the first all-Japanese Opening Day starting pitching matchup in MLB history.

Both teams will play again tomorrow, but the memories of this game will last a lifetime, and for the 42,635 fans in attendance at Tokyo Dome, they will remember it for years to come.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke following Monday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here are some takeaways…

---

On Dedniel Núñez's spring training debut

“Really good. First time out and he’s already touching 98 [mph], 96, 97 consistently," the Mets' skipper said. "Slider was good. Same guy we saw last year when he was healthy. Another good sign there.”

The right-hander needed just 11 pitches for a 1-2-3 inning, with eight going for strikes, including three called strikes and one whiff. He averaged 88.9 mph on six sliders, which was up from 87.5 mph average last year.

With Opening Day coming up in under two weeks, Mendoza said they are going to be careful with overworking Núñez, but they have to give him a couple more outings to get him ready to start the season.

“We just got to make sure he’s feeling good to go when we break camp and that we feel comfortable with him breaking camp with us,” Mendoza said. “We’ll see what happens in the next few days.” 

On Mets’ eighth-inning bullpen plans

Núñez became a big piece of the bullpen for the Mets last campaign -- posting a 2.31 ERA and 0.914 WHIP in 35 innings over 25 outings in his debut season in the big leagues -- and was a big loss when a strained flexor tendon in his right arm kept him out of the postseason.

“We felt it, we felt it when we didn’t have him, because he was a huge part of that bullpen pitching [in] high-leverage [situations],” Mendoza said. “It was, I’m not gonna say easier, but knowing that you had him available, piecing it together it gave us another weapon there to get to [Edwin] Diaz in the ninth.

“And then when he went down, some of the guys step up, but it was a big difference there.”

The 28-year-old Núñez will be a candidate for that role in the eighth this year, but Mendoza has lots of options at his disposal.

“We got a few options,” the skipper said about the final guy to bridge the gap to sounding the trumpets. “That’s what makes our bullpen part of our strength of our team.

“When you’re talking about whether it’s Núñez healthy, [A.J.] Minter healthy, [Ryne] Stanek, Reed Garrett. There’s a lot of options there. We just gotta keep them healthy.”

New York pitchers led MLB with 214 strikeouts in late and close situations but pitched to a 1.26 WHIP (136 hits and 79 walks) in 170.1 innings in that scenario (16th in baseball) with a .222 opponent batting average (12th).

On José Butto running around

Butto, who had been dealing with a "minor" groin injury returned to the mound to pitch a scoreless inning on Monday.

And, of course, the right-hander on two occasions had to run to cover first base causing the manager’s heart to skip a beat.

“A hundred percent,” Mendoza said when asked about the heart-in-mouth moment, adding he turned to assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel to say, “Of course, this is gonna happen [today] a guy was dealing with a minor [injury] and then he’s got to cover first base twice.”

“I’m glad he checked that box,” he said of Butto moving around the field. “And I checked with him after that inning and he said he was feeling good.”

Butto allowed one hit and got a strikeout, throwing 14 pitches (nine strikes) and getting three whiffs on seven swings with two called strikes. He averaged 94.6 mph on seven fastballs

On Brandon Nimmo's return to the outfield

Nimmo, who has been dealing with a knee injury got the start Monday in left field for his first action in the outfield since Feb. 28. With the Mets having an off day on Tuesday there won't be a chance for the 31-year-old to play consecutive days in the outfield, but that's not something the skipper needs to see before Opening Day.

"I don't think I need to see it," Mendoza said after shaking his head and shrugging. "He's going to continue to play, he's gonna continue to get some time off when he needs to. And I think today was a good step.

"Off day tomorrow, back at it on Wednesday."

Nimmo told SNY's Michelle Margaux his knee is "doing well" and he is "really happy to get back to this spot."

"Was a little iffy there for a week and wasn't sure if I would be able to get back out there," he told Margaux. "Felt really good the last few days and today it felt great so I'm really happy to be back in the field."

The outfielder added later that they "pushed a little bit more" to be able to play in the day's game and the knee is "making really good progress and I'm very happy with the last three days."

"We'll see how it reacts tomorrow," he continued. "... We're kind of getting down to the end here and decisions need to be made on playing the field and DHing and all that."

There wasn't too much action out there for him -- especially as Griffin Canning retired nine Rays via the strikeout -- but Nimmo was glad to be out there as "that's part of getting back out there... just the time on the feet and in the cleats and ramping up for the at-bats."

"I'm just gonna try and get as much as I can," Nimmo said about the number of at-bats he's looking to get in the final week to get back on track. "Whether it's backfield at-bats or whether it's in the game, I'm gonna try and get three or four every day to try and start treating it a little more normal."

He added he is "optimistic" that the injury is on the "downhill side of this" and once the knee quiets down he won't have to deal with this injury during the year.

"Good timing for Opening Day," Nimmo said, "but I do think that its something that we should be able to put in our rearview mirror once it's taken care of."

Griffin Canning, who signed a modest one-year deal with the Mets in December to compete for the team’s final starting spot in the rotation, is certainly making a case that the job should be his after three outings this spring.

Despite allowing his first run of camp, he tossed another solid 4.2 innings allowing just three hits and striking out nine batters against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

When asked about his confidence level now, the 28-year-old said he feels great, before breaking into a wide smile and adding, “But [the games] don’t mean anything right now.”

“Definitely feels good to go out there and see my stuff performing and being able to get guys out,” Canning continued, “but just taking it one day at a time.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza again was tasked with praising the performance of the right-hander.

“I thought he was really good,” he said. “Thought the slider was good, the changeup was good, the times he used the fastball [it] plated up because of how well he was using the other two pitches. 

“I felt like he got ahead with the slider or with the changeup and then used the fastball to put hitters away. Attacked. Very encouraging outing for him.”

The numbers tell just how good the slider and changeup were on Monday against Tampa Bay. Canning got nine whiffs on 20 swings and six called strikes on the slider totaling 42 percent of the 36 he threw. The changeup was similar, generating three whiffs on four swings and four called strikes totaling 41 percent of the 17 he threw.

“I feel like every single day I’m here, I’m getting a little bit better,” he said. “It’s fun to take some confidence into games. It was my second time working with Luis [Torrens] back there and I feel like we’ve got a really good thing going. Know kind of what my backbone is and how we wanna pitch guys.”

How does he explain all the strikeouts he’s been racking up -- 16 through his first 10 innings over three outings?

“Honestly, I think a big part of last year of why I didn’t strike guys out was sequencing,” he said. “I just wasn’t setting guys up to strike out. So I think it was just getting back to being myself. Understanding what my pitch mix is, what I’m gonna lean on, and how to deviate when I need to.”

Last year, he had just 130 strikeouts over 171.2 innings for a career-low 6.8 strikeouts per nine. He posted a 5.19 ERA and 1.398 WHIP in 32 outings on the year.

In 2023, he got 139 batters on strikes in 127 innings (9.9 strikeouts per nine) and posted a 4.32 ERA and 1.236 WHIP over 24 outings.

The righty said that the sequences he’s been using this spring aren’t new, but more what he’s done in the past and it comes down to “mixing and matching.”

Statcast had him using just the slider, fastball, and change, but the righty revealed he threw a couple of cutters to left-handed batters and a “different slider I’m working on to one of the righties the first inning.”

“I think those are gonna be my main pitches,” Canning said of the big three. “You’re kind of past the point of working on stuff in spring now, you just want to go out there and execute pitches and get outs.”

Whatever he threw on Monday it worked, bar one fastball with two outs in the first inning that Josh Lowe tagged for a 376-foot home run. (Naturally, Statcast noted that it would not have been a home run in any MLB park used during the regular season.)

But it is no surprise to see these results from the off-speed pitches. Over the past two seasons, the changeup has been his best pitch, with a 28.8 percent whiff rate and a .318 weighted on-base average in 2024.

His slider had a 33.1 percent whiff rate last year (and 34 percent in 2023) but was hit hard with a .354 wOBA a year ago. But with changes in sequencing and a new environment, things could be a bit different in 2025.

Ryan Clifford’s mammoth home run on Sunday has earned him a spot on MLB.com’s All-Spring Breakout First Team.

Clifford, who is Joe DeMayo’s No. 4 prospect in the Mets' system, made quite the impression against the Washington Nationals’ top prospects by making quite the impression on the batter’s eye in dead center.

Measured at 449 feet and 106 MPH off the bat, Clifford’s two-run home run to dead center off of lefty Jackson Kent gave the Mets a 4-0 lead.

Ryan Clifford LAUNCHES a home run to dead center 💣 pic.twitter.com/rNt2MdBngs

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 16, 2025

Clifford, who has the ability to play both first base and in the outfield, split his time last year between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. In 31 games at Brooklyn, he hit just one home run, as the notorious winds coming off the ocean beyond right field drastically cut into his power numbers. As evidence, in his 98 games with the Rumble Ponies, he hit 18 home runs.

Clifford may still be a season or two away from his MLB debut, but it’s clear that his raw power makes him one of the most exciting prospects in the Mets system.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Some may think Brett Baty is sitting at a career crossroads of sorts this spring. He’s been to the big leagues before, but he hasn’t stuck, and now he’s got another chance, either as a fill-in for the injured Jeff McNeil at second base, at least for a while, or as a utility man who roams around the diamond for the Mets.

But Baty isn’t viewing this as some kind of make-or-break and maybe that’s how he can take advantage of this opportunity. 

“It’s just taking a step back and really taking it all in, appreciating where you are and just trying to get better every single day,” the 25-year-old said. 

“Just be where your feet are.”

Baty’s feet are, much of the time, at second base, where he started Monday’s game against the Rays at Clover Park. He is trying to learn the complexities of a position that has a lot more responsibilities than third base, where he’s played for most of his career. 

There’s more communication before every pitch. He must learn the nuances of turning a double play and the ways to protect himself while doing it. He’s got to know who’s covering the second-base bag on, say, a comebacker to the pitcher with a man on first. There’s a different set of cutoffs and relays than at third base. He’s got to get familiar with the first baseman and know what situations he might have to dart over to cover that base. And more.

Third base, as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza put it, “is more angles and throwing across the diamond." 

“He’s going to be involved in a lot more plays every pitch,” Mendoza added. “There’s only so much that you can replicate just by hitting him ground balls. He needs game action and that’s some of the things that we’re going to be looking at and we’ll use those opportunities for teaching moments.” 

So far, so good, at least according to Francisco Lindor, who has been playing with Baty recently, including on Monday. In the fifth inning, Baty started a double play, flipping to Lindor for the relay to first, and the pairing was smooth. Baty also made two solid plays going to his left, including one in the eighth inning where he had to throw to José Butto on the move while the pitcher covered first.

“He looks good,” Lindor said. “He looks like he’s starting to feel comfortable and he looks like he’s embracing the challenge. That’s all you can ask for. He is ready for whatever comes his way.” 

Asked to name some folks who’ve helped him, Baty mentioned several, including Yolmer Sánchez, the 2019 AL Gold Glove winner at second base for the White Sox, who was Baty’s teammate at Triple-A Syracuse last year. Others included third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and Lindor. 

“We've been doing early work pretty much every day, just trying to get the footwork and stuff down on some double play turns,” Baty said.

However his role shakes out, Baty’s bat will be a big factor. He’s been having a terrific spring, though he was 0-for-4 Monday in the Mets’ 2-0 loss to the Rays. That dropped Baty’s average to .308 and his OPS to .910 and he also has three doubles and two home runs. 

He’s said he’s tried to concentrate on swinging at strikes, though, in the same sentence, he lightly chastised himself for not doing that on Sunday during an 0-for-3. 

“I swung at a lot of balls, that’s why I got out a lot,” Baty noted. 

The other day, Mendoza was asked about offense and how much that would factor into the roles Baty is vying for with, among others, Luisangel Acuña, who gave the Mets a serious jolt late last year when he subbed for an injured Lindor and batted .308 with a .966 OPS.

“You’re losing your everyday guy, Jeff McNeil, who won a batting title not too long ago, and you can replace him with a guy that is going to provide offense, I think that’s huge, especially down in the bottom of the lineup,” Mendoza said. “It’s important. We know the potential is there.

Acuña has all of 40 plate appearances in the bigs. And Baty does not have a huge track record of offensive success in the Majors In 169 career games, the 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft has a .215 average, a .607 OPS and 15 home runs.

Baty could dwell on that. He’d rather heed what former Met Tomás Nido told a Triple-A hitting group a few years ago when Nido was still with the Mets. 

“He said, ‘When you get up there [the Majors], don’t take anything for granted, because it’s not a given. It’s not a right,’” Baty recalled. 

“People earn it, like Lindor,” Baty added. “He’s earned what he’s gotten. [Juan] Soto, same thing. You’re not entitled to anything. So that’s what I’m thinking. If I’m in the major leagues, I’m going to be super appreciative and grateful. But it’s also a job. You’ve got to compete.

“I'm happy to embrace any role that they want me to. I just want to be in the major leagues, helping a team win, whether that's playing second base, or whether that's rotating around the infield, maybe the outfield, giving guys days off here and there. Whatever my role is, I'm fine with.

“I love a challenge.” 

The Yankees fell to the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 6-5 on Monday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways…

-Paul Goldschmidt left the game in the bottom of the third inning after two at-bats. Later, he told reporters he exited because of a sore back, which he's been dealing with for a few days. Fortunately for the Yankees, Goldschmidt said he has no concern about this holding him out come Opening Day.

-Clarke Schmidt was originally scheduled to start this game, but out of an abundance of caution the Yanks had him throw a bullpen session instead, which went well by all accounts. Left-hander Brent Headrick got the start in Schmidt’s place, but things didn’t go well for him as he allowed three earned runs on three hits with a pair of walks in just one inning.

After a couple of scoreless outings to start his spring, Headrick has been hit hard in his last three appearances.

-Trent Grisham hit just .190  with nine homers in 179 at-bats with New York last season. On Monday, he slammed his fourth homer of the spring, with this one just clearing the top of the fence in left center.

Grisham will likely be the fourth outfielder and a defensive presence in 2025, but his power numbers this spring have been eye-opening.

-The Yankees had Ben Rice catching and hitting out of the leadoff spot on Monday. Rice put the Yanks on the scoreboard in the top of the third, roping a single off the base of the wall in right-center, scoring Ismael Munguia from second base.

Later, Rice deposited the first pitch of the seventh inning over the wall in left-center for his fourth homer of the spring.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where Rice isn't with the major league team coming out of spring training

-J.C. Escarra, serving as the Yanks' DH on Monday, registered two more hits as he continues to push for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a catcher/DH option. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitter is batting .368 this spring with a 1.032 OPS.

-The Yankees took their first lead of the day in the top of the eighth inning, when 22-year-old Brenny Escanio hit a solo homer to left. Escanio played in Low and High-A ball last season. But Toronto tied the game and then walked it off with home runs in the eighth and ninth.

Who was the game MVP?

Rice, who homered and hit another ball off the wall.

Highlights

Another home run for Trent Grisham!

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/GkIfRf3LjW

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 17, 2025

Ben Rice ties the game with his fourth home run of the spring 💣

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/GwUO5Vgxq5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 17, 2025

Yanks take the lead on a go-ahead bomb in the eighth! pic.twitter.com/Ssxc6FEI5S

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 17, 2025

What's next

The Yankees host the Boston Red Sox in Tampa on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m.

Mets designated hitter/outfielderJesse Winkerexited Monday's split squad game against the Rays in the bottom of the third inning after his first at-bat.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that Winker was removed for precautionary reasons due to cramping, adding that Winker is doing "fine."

"Felt something in the calf, he's like, 'It's just a cramp,'" Mendoza said after the Mets' 2-0 loss to Miami. "But, you know, at this point in camp we don't want to take any chances."

Winker, who stayed in the dugout for a bit before heading to the clubhouse, was replaced at DH by prospect Ryan Clifford.

"He went in, trainers took a look at him and confirmed it was just a cramp," the skipper continued. "So, I just talked to him now and he should be okay."

After getting treatment on the calf, Winker said he "feels better" and is "not really too concerned about it."

"It just cramped up," he continued. "[Athletic trainer Bryan] Baca and Mendy, they were just like, 'let's go get treatment, let's just play it smart.' It was the right move."

With the Mets having Tuesday off, the DH expects to be able to return to the lineup later this week.

The expectation is that Winker will be the Mets' regular designated hitter when the regular season begins.

The Mets beat the Marlins, 6-5, on Monday afternoon as their spring training slate continued.

---

Here are the takeaways...

- Paul Blackburn spun a perfect first inning, with a pair of strikeouts.

Overall, Blackburn allowed two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out six in 4.0 innings.

The only damage off Blackburn was a wind-blown two-run homer to right field by Dane Myers in the third inning.

Blackburn is battling with Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill for the final two spots in the starting rotation, but the expectation is that all three pitchers will make the 26-man Opening Day roster -- with two on the starting staff and one in the bullpen.

- Luisangel Acuña stroked a single to right field his first time up, but he was caught leaning and got picked off first base a few pitches later. Acuña added another single to right field in the fifth inning, but was picked off first base a second time.

He finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

In the field, Acuña made a throwing error at shortstop in the sixth inning, short-hopping a throw to first base.

- Juan Soto went 0-for-2 with a walk. He has a 1.295 OPS this spring.

- Starling Marte got the start at designated hitter and went 0-for-3 with a run scored.

- Pete Alonso delivered a sacrifice fly in the first inning and walked in the eighth.

- The Mets plated three runs in the eighth inning and two runs in the ninth, including a two-run homer off the bat of outfielder Alexander Canario.

Highlights

Bad fundies by the Marlins allows the Mets to take the lead!

(via @FanDuelSN_FL) pic.twitter.com/iQ3mVhr3nA

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Alexander Canario with an opposite field home run

He's 1-for-1 with three walks and now a two-run homer on the day

(via @FanDuelSN_FL) pic.twitter.com/l9ig8FjpTx

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Upcoming schedule

The Mets are off on Tuesday.

They travel to face the Astros on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.

The Mets lost to the Rays, 2-0, on Monday afternoon as their spring training slate continued.

---

Here are the takeaways...

- Griffin Canning looked sharp while striking out three batters in the first inning, but also made one costly mistake -- leaving a pitch up to Josh Lowe, who cracked a solo homer to right-center field.

That was the only big mistake Canning made all day, as he mostly toyed with the Rays' hitters.

Over 4.2 innings, Canning allowed three hits and one run while walking one and striking out nine, lowering his spring training ERA to 0.90.

Canning is battling with Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill for the final two spots in the starting rotation, but the expectation is that all three pitchers will make the 26-man Opening Day roster -- with two on the starting staff and one in the bullpen.

- Designated hitter Jesse Winkerleft the game early due to cramping in his calf.

- Brandon Nimmo started in left field -- his first time playing the outfield since Feb. 28, as he's been dealing with a knee issue.

At the plate, Nimmo went 0-for-2 with a walk.

- Brett Baty got the start at second base as he continues to get the bulk of his action there.

He made a really nice play with one out in the eighth inning, ranging far to his left on a chopper before fielding it and throwing on the run to first base for the out.

Including the above play, Baty cleanly fielded every ball that came his way on Monday.

Baty went 0-for-4 at the dish.

With Jeff McNeil out for Opening Day due to an oblique injury, Baty could have the inside track to the regular second base job to start the season.

- Francisco Lindor smoked a single to right field in his second at-bat and added a pop fly double his third time up. He finished 2-for-4.

- Dedniel Núñez made his spring training debut and was sharp, retiring the side in order in the seventh inning. He hit 98 mph with his fastball, and finished his outing by getting a swinging strikeout on an 89 mph slider.

- Jose Butto, who had been out of game action for just over a week due to a groin issue, pitched the eighth inning. Butto, whose fastball was up to 95 mph, worked around a soft one-out single to toss a scoreless frame.

Highlights

Two more strikeouts for Griffin Canning and he's got five in the first two innings ♨️ pic.twitter.com/yUYmpAQSks

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Francisco Lindor with the smooth backhand 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ad53q2IR9d

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Griffin Canning has struck out seven of the ten batters he's faced 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yt4XdXkrG0

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

A base hit for Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/gYYMxqlSKF

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Two more strikeouts for Griffin Canning and he's up to nine in four innings 💪 pic.twitter.com/Khkou4knwZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Francisco Lindor's second hit of the afternoon! pic.twitter.com/OJbCDxmWz7

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Dedniel Núñez with a 1-2-3 inning in his return to the mound! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yAmYOwLtxb

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Brett Baty runs down the chopper and throws to José Buttó for the out! pic.twitter.com/FVMAknF74w

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 17, 2025

Upcoming schedule

The Mets are off on Tuesday.

They travel to face the Astros on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.

Castleford Tigers full-back Fletcher Rooney has been ruled out for about four months with a thigh injury.

The 19-year-old suffered a high-grade quadriceps injury in training.

Rooney has featured in all four of the Tigers' Super League games so far this season, scoring two tries.

"It's really tough to see Fletch sidelined with such an unlucky injury," head of medical services Nick Raynor told the club website.

• Castleford full-back Rooney signs five-year deal

Ahead of Monday’s Grapefruit League matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided a few injury updates.

-Clarke Schmidt threw a bullpen session on Monday instead of making his previously scheduled start against the Jays, since his shoulder hadn’t recovered the way he wanted to after his first start on March 11.

But Schmidt threw a 24-pitch bullpen session instead, and Boone told reporters it went well for the 29-year-old.

Schmidt also told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic that he felt good after his bullpen, and said he wasn’t too concerned about his shoulder, so it seems the Yankees may have dodged the worst possible outcome here.

-Giancarlo Stanton is doing more, per Boone, but the manager didn’t elaborate past that. Stanton has been held out of baseball activities all spring long as he deals with elbow issues, which have required two PRP injections since the start of camp.

-Veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu is “moving the needle” in his recovery from a left calf strain and has resumed hitting. LeMahieu has played in just one game this spring after playing only 67 games last season due to injury woes.

-Also of note, reliever Jake Cousins, who has yet to throw off a mound this spring due to a right forearm strain, has progressed to throwing at 90 feet.