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Tylor Megill was just the opening act and a supporting player in the Mets' 5-0 win in their home opener on Friday at Citi Field. But the right-hander delivered a second-straight solid outing and set the table for the fireworks around him before exiting stage left.

“Just exciting. Full crowd today, electric, energy was great,” Megill said after delivering 5.1 innings of two-hit, three-walk ball with four strikeouts. “That’s what makes it super fun when all the fans show up, and they’re all chanting hard and we’re playing great, as well.”

Megill, who again went heavy on his fastball, slider, and sinker in his second start of the season, got fewer called strikes and whiffs than he did a week ago in Houston but was just as effective.

Carlos Mendoza liked the mix of pitches and the right-hander “keeping it simple” and “attacking hitters,” which was a key for him in his debut.

“I thought he used all of ‘em today in a good way,” the manager said of Megill’s arsenal. “But I think it comes down to throwing strikes and staying on the attack.”

After throwing two curveballs last week, Megill threw nine on Friday, getting two whiffs on four swings.

“It’s completely different from where it was last year. It’s a lot harder and sharper,” he said. “I used it a few times today for strikeouts today against the lefties. And then threw some good ones to righties.

“I think it’s just good for change of pace, change of eyes. I think it’s pretty important.”

After an 11-pitch first, Megill put himself into a spot of bother early and had to dig out of a hole after Pete Alonso gave him a 2-0 lead to work with.

With two down in the second, Megill surrendered a triple to George Springer and walked Will Wagner on a full count. That’s when pitching coach Jeremy Hefner came out to give the starter a moment, having already thrown 21 pitches in the frame.

“He slowed the game down and made pitches when he needed to,” Mendoza said, adding that Hefner’s visit helped “put him in a better position there, and he went out there and executed.”

Megill got Ernie Clement to pop out in foul territory on a 95 mph fastball above the zone to end the threat.

Could he have drawn the day up any better? “A little more efficient with the pitching,” the starter said with a smile. “Did the job.”’

He added: “Full bullpen killing it. Offense killing it. It was pretty perfect ball game today.”

Mets' 'pen spells relief

“We like the guys that we got there, and they keep doing their jobs,” Mendoza said of the Mets’ bullpen after his relievers delivered 3.2 scoreless innings allowing two hits and no walks while striking out six.

Of course, it is pretty simple for the first part of that sentence to be true when the second part is this apparent.

Through seven games, Mets relievers have posted a 1.40 ERA (second lowest in MLB), a 0.97 WHIP (sixth lowest), and are holding opponents to a .178 batting average (tied for fourth lowest) over 25.2 innings. The 'pen has a 24 to 9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“There’s a lot of different looks, a lot of different pitch types, righty, lefties, and the biggest thing is coming into the game and attacking the strike zone,” the manager said. “They’re doing that.” 

The first man out of the bullpen on Friday was Reed Garrett, and he had no easy task as Megill departed following back-to-back one-out walks. But the right-hander needed just eight pitches to get Andrés Giménez and Alejandro Kirk swinging. 

“Reader comin' in and just dealing,” Megill said.

“He’s done it before, he keeps doing it,” the skipper added. “I like his pitches, obviously, his ability to slow the game down. Having the awareness of the situation, whether you’re trying to make a guy chase, you’re trying to get a ground ball.”

Garrett induced four whiffs, with the splitter working as the put-away pitch both times.

“This is a guy that can get righties, get lefties, get ground balls, can get swing and misses with a lot of his pitches, and he’s done that. He’s a big part of that bullpen, and he’ll continue to play a huge role.”

It was a big day for one of those relievers: childhood Mets fan Max Krannick, who again provided two innings to protect the rest of the arms.

“Krannick continues to do a helluva job on a day where we needed him to finish that game, he ended up doing that,” Mendoza said. “That goes a long way when you’re protecting the bullpen the way they’re doing. Whether it’s a [Huascar] Brazobán, whether it’s [José] Butto going multiple innings the other day, today Krannick.”

So far, that trio has provided 14.1 innings and allowed just four hits over eight scoreless outings.

“We’re gonna need all of them,” Mendoza continued. “And they’re all doing their job and their parts. And that’s good to see.”

Heading into the 2025 season, the Mets' offense was one to be reckoned with. The addition of Juan Soto and bringing back Pete Alonso made a formidable 1-2 punch that could rival any other team. Add in NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor and a cast of capable hitters and the 2025 Mets were poised to score a ton of runs.

Well, that hasn't proven true in the early going. Not until the home opener at Citi Field, at least.

Entering Friday's game against the Blue Jays, the Mets have scored 23 runs in their first six games, but only in two of them did they score more than three runs.

New York was motivated to be aggressive and push across as many runs as possible, and it started with Lindor.

Leading off, the unofficial Mets captain went the other way and deposited a hit into left-center and stretched it into a double -- originally called out but overturned after replay. After the game, Lindor said that coaches and other players have been talking to him about setting the tone by being aggressive.

"The guys behind me are really, really good. Let them do what they do," Lindor said. "My job as a leadoff is to set the tone."

It was a great start for Lindor, who entered the game mired in an all-too-familiar April slump. He was 2-for-20 on the team's road trip to start the season with six strikeouts and no walks.

"I didn’t do a good job on the road trip to give the team quality at-bats. My main goal today was to give quality at-bats, if I do that, hitting is very contagious," Lindor elaborated. "Hopefully, that passes on to Soto. Soto’s been having great at-bats, the he can pass it on to Pete, he’s been doing fantastic. Then to Nimmo, he’s been doing very good. By me setting the tone, hopefully, everyone else can pass it along and end up on top."

"Great to set the tone right away. Everything is calculated, what he does," Nimmo said of Lindor. "Push it for the double, obviously a great slide to get in there safely and to grab the momentum right away and never let go. That’s the way you want to play all the way through. Happy for Lindor. You’re not going to keep him down for long. We know big games are coming from him soon."

Alonso would drive in Lindor with his opposite-field homer that put the Mets up 2-0 after the first. Lindor would set the table for the Mets again in the sixth with a one-out walk. The Jays brought in a lefty to take on Soto, but the perennial All-Star lined a double down the right-field line, scoring Lindor all the way from first base.

After Alonso was intentionally walked, Nimmo would make Toronto pay with a double to increase the Mets' lead to 4-0. Starling Marte would push across the final run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

That sixth inning magnified how dangerous this lineup could be. No matter how the Blue Jays tried to play around with the matchups, it was a next-man-up mentality, with Nimmo's double that Alonso said "pushed us over the edge" for the win. Nimmo said after that he always wants to make a team pay for intentionally walking the batter in front of him and was glad to come through for the team.

He also echoed Lindor when asked about the offense as a whole.

"They say hitting is contagious and that’s a real thing. Just going up there and playing off the momentum," he said. "Soto getting that big double was huge to be able to get some more breathing room. Knowing that hitting is contagious and knowing you’re going up there with a good plan and try and execute it.

"It was a good feeling to come through and glad I can help the boys there and solidify that win in the end."

When the Mets signed Soto and re-signed Alonso, when talking about Nimmo's RBI double, Lindor pointed to it as proof that this offense is more than just a couple of players.

"It proves that it’s not about 1, 2, 3 hitters. Everyone in this lineup can do damage," Lindor said. "Nimmo’s been doing damage for a very long time. To walk Pete to go lefty on lefty, now they’re going to have to start rethinking their game plan because they know Nimmo is going to execute. I like the depth of the lineup.

"Today was a good day to be a New York Met, and we got to come back tomorrow and put on a better show."

To many around the sport, the Dodgers have become villains for the way they’ve outspent the rest of the league, loaded their roster with international talent, and stockpiled depth at seemingly every position.

To the Philadelphia Phillies, however, it makes them the standard; one with which their own big-money, star-studded roster is trying to compete.

“I don’t know if people will like this,” said the Phillies' biggest star, two-time MVP Bryce Harper, when asked Friday about the Dodgers' juggernaut status, “but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team, they’re a great organization. That’s why guys want to go there and play.”

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In other words, Harper added, “they’re doing what the Dodgers do.”

That’s why, on Friday night, there was a distinct buzz around Citizens Bank Park when the Dodgers came to town. Why, for the first week of April, this series had a litmus-test kind of feel.

"I think that both teams like to use each other as a barometer, or a benchmark,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

But right now, no team sets the bar higher than the Dodgers.

And for one night, at least, the first-place Phillies were able to measure up.

In a 3-2 defeat, the Phillies handed the defending World Series champions their first loss of the season; dropping the Dodgers to 8-1 in a game that, yes, proved this year’s $400 million team is, in fact, beatable.

"Uncharted territory,” Roberts deadpanned of the team’s first loss. 

“We were bound to lose eventually,” added Tommy Edman. “But still a tough loss for sure."

Indeed, knocking off the Dodgers was no easy feat.

Over six innings against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Phillies had one unearned run. Yamamoto misfired on a pick-off throw to third that allowed Trea Turner to score.

“That was very regrettable,” Yamamoto, who was otherwise flawless in a three-hit, three-walk, five-strikeout start, said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “It was a very fundamental play.”

Philadelphia’s starter, burgeoning 27-year-old left-hander Jesús Luzardo, produced one of his best career starts, blanking the Dodgers over seven scoreless innings on two hits, two walks, eight strikeouts — and some help from a howling wind blowing in from center, which kept seemingly surefire home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández in the ballpark.

“I thought Shohei's ball, on any normal night, would've been a homer. I thought Teo's ball, any normal night, would've been a homer,” Roberts said. “But you can't take credit away from Luzardo. He pitched a heck of a ballgame."

And the few times the Dodgers did have opportunities to erase the deficit — which grew to 3-0 after the Phillies scored twice in the seventh off reliever Kirby Yates — they squandered them with either empty at-bats (such as Kiké Hernández’s inning-ending strikeout with two aboard in the seventh) or, more frustratingly, miscues on the bases.

Andy Pages was caught stealing to end the sixth inning, getting stuck in a rundown after a premature jump that triggered a pick-off throw from Luzardo.

“As a young player, you still got to play the game the right way,” Roberts said. “He was doubled off a couple games ago. And this one, you go and you stop — you just can't. ... Gotta eliminate those outs on the bases."

Ohtani gambled with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth, getting thrown out by star Phillies catcher JT Realmuto at second to end the inning with Mookie Betts at the plate. 

“Realmuto is one of the best throwers in the game,” Roberts said, noting Ohtani had the green light to steal. “But when you're down three with Mookie at the plate, you got to make sure you're safe if you're going to go.”

Then, after a two-run, ninth-inning homer from Edman (who is tied for the early National League lead with five long balls) cut the three-run deficit to one, Chris Taylor was thrown out trying to steal second as a pinch-runner, ending the game on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double-play that also saw Max Muncy go down swinging.

“Giving those guys three outs on the bases,” Roberts said, “that's something that we have to clean up.”

As a result, the Dodgers’ perfect start to the season fell two wins shy of the all-time franchise record of 10-0, set by the 1955 “Boys of Summer” World Series squad.

And they got their first reminder that, in this year’s National League pennant race, they will still be tested by fellow contenders, from divisional rivals like the San Francisco Giants (who are 6-1) and San Diego Padres (who also lost their perfect record Friday, dropping to 7-1), to perhaps the World Series-starved Phillies (also 6-1) most of all.

“It's hard to beat a good team,” Roberts said. “That's what happened tonight."

As for Harper’s “losers” comment about people who take issue with the Dodgers’ way of doing business?

“I guess that's probably why Bryce is one of my favorite players,” Roberts said with a laugh. “I agree."

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

In the interview room, Pete Alonso was searching for the right word to sum up what had to be the most heartwarming day of his career, for so many reasons.

After all, no matter what he says publicly, there were surely times last winter when the slugger believed he wasn’t coming back to the Mets, given the lack of traction in contract negotiations.

Yet here was Alonso at the home opener, soaking in all the love the Citi Field fans could heap upon him after his first-inning home run that set the tone for a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, eventually taking a curtain call when the cheering wouldn’t end.

So what was the right word to describe such a memorable day?

Alonso went with “picturesque” a couple of times, speaking to the feel of a convincing win on a day the Mets dodged threatening skies and got temperatures warm enough for short sleeves.

Finally, when asked about his own personal feelings, Alonso tried again.

“It was very storybook-like,” he said with a smile.

Yep, that works.

Maybe there are other emotions Alonso would rather not speak to as well, of course. It’s only natural for him to have a chip on his shoulder and a determination to prove he deserved the long-term contract the Mets wouldn’t give him.

But to his credit, he hasn’t offered so much as a hint in that direction from the day in February that he re-signed for the two-year, $54 million deal that includes an opt-out after 2025.

Instead, he has shown up with a smile and gone to work, so far at least debunking any notion that he is in decline as a hitter after his numbers had fallen off the last two seasons.

“He’s locked in,” was the way Carlos Mendoza put it after Friday’s win. “When he’s not chasing, when he’s going to the opposite field, he’s really, really good.”

More than that, Alonso has been a difference-maker, something he wasn’t in 2024, at least until the postseason.

Already this season, he has hit three game-changing home runs, all of them to center or right-center, to the point Mendoza was making, which indicates he is not pressing and overswinging, which seemed to be the case last year.

All in all, after seven games, Alonso is hitting .292 with five extra-base hits, 10 RBI and a .750 slugging percentage. On Wednesday he hit three balls at 113 mph or higher off the bat, which is rarefied air for exit velocity.

Even more impressive, after his first two at-bats on Friday, including his home run and then a rocket ground ball to third, Alonso had hit the ball at 101 mph or harder in six straight at-bats over two games.

Yet, to fully appreciate how hot Alonso is at the moment, you had to see just how he hit that first-inning home run on Friday. Facing an elite starter in Kevin Gausman, whose nasty splitter puts hitters in protect mode with two strikes, Alonso fell behind 1-2, fouled off an inside fastball, and then flicked his bat at a 95-mph heater below the knees on the outside corner.

And it went 377 feet into the wind over the right-field fence.

According to Inside Edge, a statistical website, it was only the fourth time in his career that Alonso had hit a home run with two strikes on a pitch outside the strike zone.

That’s locked in, all right.

Yet long-time teammate Brandon Nimmo insisted he wasn’t surprised.

“That’s very much Pete,” Nimmo said. “He finds the barrel and it can leave any ballpark.”

However, scouts will tell you it wasn’t happening as much as usual last season. Heck, your own eyes told you that. He was hitting mistake pitches and not much else, rarely coming through in the clutch -- at least until sitting back on that fateful change-up from Devin Williams in Milwaukee last October.

But the point is, Alonso is capable of this. He hit some of his most impressive home runs to the opposite field early in his career, and he has talked about how he made some changes in his swing mechanics in the offseason to get more balanced again.

Maybe it’s as simple as that. More likely, Alonso learned something from playing for that mega-contract last year, maybe wanting it a little too much.

In any case, he looks like the best version of himself, which could mean 40-plus home runs and the type of protection for Juan Soto that could make the Mets’ offense a beast.

The sixth inning on Friday was an indication of the possibilities. With Francisco Lindor on base, the Blue Jays went to a lefthanded reliever, Mason Fluharty, and after Soto lined an RBI double to the right-field corner, the Jays had little choice but to intentionally walk Alonso.

That set the table for Brandon Nimmo, who has hit lefties better than right-handers the last few years, to deliver his own RBI double, before Starling Marte finished off the three-run rally with a hard sacrifice fly to center.

“That’s what this lineup can do,” said Nimmo, “especially with Pete swinging the bat like he is.”

That’s when Nimmo was asked about his own take on the Alonso contract saga.

“We were definitely worried [that Alonso wouldn’t be back],” he said. “But we don’t have to worry anymore.”

Finally, an NL scout texted me with an observation that added some notable perspective: “I thought Soto was a stone-cold lock to be the first Met intentionally walked this season. Not Alonso.”

There is a long way to go, of course. But on Friday, Alonso deserved to savor all the cheers and chants from the fans, all the hugs and handshakes from teammates that made this a day to remember. Storybook indeed.