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What Happened
In the opening game of the season, the New York Mets and Houston Astros battle down to the wire in a thrilling ninth inning finish. The Astros lead the Mets by three runs as Josh Hader takes the mound, aiming to secure the save for his squad. Starling Marte steps up to the plate for the Mets and singles through the hole, getting his team started. Next, Tyrone Taylor lines a single to left field, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Luis Angel Acuña, a great story who has been overlooked, steps up to the plate. Hader challenges him with fastballs, and Acuña works a tough at-bat, fouling off pitch after pitch. Eventually, Hader misses with a slider, and Acuña draws a walk to load the bases. The Mets crowd erupts, sensing a potential comeback. Mets manager Buck Showalter comes out to the mound and advises Hader to stick with his fastball, as the Mets hitters are struggling to time it. Hader follows the advice, striking out the next batter on three straight heaters. That brings up Francisco Lindor, the Mets' star shortstop. Hader mixes in a changeup that catches Lindor off guard, but then returns to his fastball, inducing a sacrifice fly that scores a run and makes it a 3-1 game. Now it's superstar Juan Soto's turn to face Hader, with the game on the line. Soto works the count full, fouling off a couple of tough sliders. Hader decides to challenge Soto with a fastball, and Soto takes a massive cut, but Hader's pitch is perfectly placed, and Soto can only stare in disbelief as the Astros hold on for the opening day victory. The intensity and drama of this ninth-inning showdown between two of baseball's biggest stars, Soto and Hader, leaves the crowd buzzing and sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting season ahead.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentThe Mets and Astros had a fun ninth inning on opening day.
This breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings.
We got Josh Hader stepping to the mound for the Astros,
trying to lock down the save for his squad on opening day.
The Mets are down by three.
Starling Marte's at the dish.
Slider for a strike, looking.
Next pitch, fastball in.
0-2.
Boom.
Fastball, top of the zone.
Fouled off.
What's he going to go with here?
Back to the slider.
That's hit through the hole for a single.
The Mets got something going on,
and we're going to see a lot more fastballs after the slider gets hit.
Tyrone Taylor up next, 0-3 on the day.
Line out, two fly outs.
First pitch, fastball, top of the zone.
He wants that right at the top like that.
1-1.
Third fastball in a row.
That's what he's trying to do every time.
1-2, tries to go outside with it, stays alive.
So he goes to the slider, and that is hit into left field.
We've now got first and second.
Let's roll, let's roll, let's roll.
It's out.
Luis Angel Acuna.
Great story.
Google it.
It's a great story.
He steps up.
He says, give me that fastball.
I know you don't respect me.
I know you're just going to give me fastball.
Damn.
Strike one.
Give me another fastball.
Okay.
Fouled it back.
He's not giving any off speed to the kid.
He says, no, I don't need a second pitch.
Just fastballs.
He's battling, though.
He's fighting.
Fastballs, fine.
Bring it.
I just got to stop chasing.
Great.
Didn't chase that one.
Hater's like, well, we're not going to last long.
Oh, didn't chase that one.
2-2 now.
So Josh says, fine.
Slider fights it off.
He made his pitch there.
That's exactly where he wants to put that.
He's thinking, okay, executed that.
Found the outside edge.
He's just fouling them off.
I don't like that.
They love it.
Atta baby.
Okay.
So Hater thinking back to the fastball, right?
Yep.
Fouled back.
What a battle from the kid against Josh Hater.
Now the crowd's starting to get into it.
They're starting to stand up.
2-2.
That would be ball three, but it's fouled off.
Give me a fucking base hit.
Come on.
Come on, two.
Let's go.
The 2-2.
Another slider takes it under the zone.
Don't think that was a good pitch, but he sat on it.
Nonetheless, fouls back the fastball.
They're into it now.
Let's go, baby.
Great fucking job, Louie.
Crushing it.
You just call me Louie?
The 3-2.
Ball four.
Doesn't chase the fastball.
Yeah!
They love it.
Winker loves it.
Hey, hey.
And a hat tip to you.
Manager comes out.
Hey, when you put the fastball in the zone, they're not hitting it.
They're swinging at it.
They're not hitting it.
When you throw a slider, they're not swinging at it or they're hitting it.
Let's go fastballs.
What do you think?
Yeah?
Fastballs?
Hot catch?
Okay, see ya.
The next batter comes up.
Fastball.
Four strike.
Fastball.
Fouled back.
The 0-2.
Fastball.
Fouled back.
The 0-2 again.
Fastball.
Strike three.
Coach was right.
Hey, coach was all over this one.
Okay, but now comes Lindor and next comes Soto.
That's where things get interesting because his base is loaded.
Fastball to Lindor.
Fouled back.
Another fastball.
Checked his swing.
Yes, he did.
Now look at this.
A changeup.
I didn't know Hayter messed around with changeups.
Lindor's like, what?
Changeup?
Is that because we were hitting your slider?
The 2-1.
Hayter shakes.
Nope.
Yep.
No.
Yes.
Back to the fastball.
Ooh.
Catcher might have been on to something there, but it's only a fly out.
One run scores.
That means the Mets are down to the last out, but up comes the new face of the franchise.
The man who's been in this spot with Josh Hayter a bunch before had a walk-off in the
opening series last year against Josh Hayter has a big playoff at bat against Josh Hayter,
and there they are once again.
Meeting with the game on the line.
Only place you'll really meet Josh Hayter, because he is a closer.
That's a ball up.
Oh, and we're shuffling and wiggling and hip hitting.
1-0.
Slider below the zone.
He brought it back there.
Catcher says, we like that pitch, but he didn't chase.
3-0.
I think he's close to hitting the spot he wants, but it's 3-0 now.
Sorry, I said 2-0.
Now it's 3-0.
No.
Yes.
He wants the fastball.
We're going to respect him and go slider.
And Soto says, okay, okay.
I respect you right back then.
I respect you right back then.
3-1.
Double it up, Soto says.
Fastball.
That's the pitch he wants.
That's the one he hit a home run on in the World Series or ALCS.
He's walking around.
He's walking around saying, damn, that's the one I want.
And now Hayter says, I'll go back to the slider now.
Boom.
Gets him.
Huge.
Soto just looks at him like, oh, usually I win.
Mmm.
Usually I win.
Hayter loves it.
No trouble at all.
Look at this pitch.
This is the slider and the fastball.
Tough.
They're also going very fast.
Look how much this moves left to right.
That's insane.
Fun finish on opening day.
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Thank you for tuning in.
Going to be a fun season.
I'm excited.