Jason Vargas and the Mets opened their season in Miami with a mess of a first inning. Marlins pitcher Caleb Smith came to the plate trying to bunt with a runner on first but ended up fouling it off. During the next pitch, the runner stole second with no throw, making the Mets’ pickoff attempts pointless. Then Smith, a pitcher known for never stealing or attempting a steal, slapped a base hit to right, moving the runner to third. After a sacrifice fly gave the Marlins their first run, all focus shifted to Caleb Smith on first.
Vargas became obsessed with keeping Smith close despite him having zero career stolen base attempts. He threw over to first multiple times, seemingly just to mess with Smith, who looked more confused with each throw. Even the fans started laughing as the sequence dragged on. Smith looked annoyed but kept taking it in stride. The at-bat eventually ended with a walk, then a three-run homer from the next batter. Smith got to jog around the bases for what seemed to be his first career run.
It went from comic to costly fast, and the Mets looked out of sync. If Vargas was trying to get in Smith’s head, it backfired. Smith scored, and then the Marlins tacked on another homer right after. The plan made no sense and didn’t work. Just a rough start for Vargas, both in execution and strategy.