After months of waiting, Opening Day is finally here and the starting lineup for the New York Mets is available.
COVID-19 robbed MLB and its fans of a large chunk of the 2020 season. Just days before the original Opening Day, MLB was forced to shut down its activities due to the global pandemic. Finally, after months of illness, disputes, and waiting Opening Day is finally here. With that said, here’s the New York Mets 2020 Opening Day lineup.
Our #OpeningDay lineup! #LGM pic.twitter.com/wG5FgaIKDW
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 24, 2020
The biggest surprises are Brandon Nimmo and Robinson Cano. Mets manager Luis Rojas made it clear that he felt Cano was still a middle-of-the-order bat during summer camp and hit him third during both exhibition games. Despite that, Cano has slid down to the sixth spot in the lineup.
Moving up in the lineup is Nimmo. The Mets’ resident on-base machine hit eighth in one of the exhibition games, prompting fear from many Mets fans. That fear was unwarranted as Nimmo will bat leadoff.
Jacob deGrom is the starting pitcher, though he may not pitch like it. With back problems costing him some time it’s likely deGrom won’t be allowed to throw more than 85 pitches at most Friday night.
The Atlanta Braves will counter with this lineup:
Your 2020 Atlanta Braves #OpeningDay lineup!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/uEBOwQKada
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 24, 2020
Freddie Freeman will get the start at first base and hit third after recovering from COVID-19. Ex-Met Matt Adams will be starting at DH and hitting fifth.
The big surprise is Alex Jackson starting at catcher. Braves manager Brian Snitker informed the media that Travis d’Arnaud and Tyler Flower both had COVID symptoms, though both tested negative, and were left in Atlanta as a precautionary measure.
Opening pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET on Friday. The game will be available on both SNY and ESPN.
