HOUSTON – The 2025 Houston Astros season is officially underway at Daikin Park.
The Astros are starting the year with a home series against the New York Mets.
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On Opening Day, the Astros took care of the Mets, capitalizing on hits in the second and third innings and holding on for a 3-1 victory.
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FULL GAME SUMMARY
First Inning
Eighth-year pitcher Framber Valdez got the start for the Astros. The first batter he faced was Francisco Lindor. With an 0-1 count, Lindor smacked a line-drive ball, and Astros’ shortstop Jeremy Pena rose up to make an athletic grab for the game’s first out.
Next up was Juan Soto, who singled to right field on the second pitch he faced. Pete Alonso was walked on a full count, sending Soto to second base. Mark Vientos batted fourth, and he grounded out to shortstop on his first pitch, but his effort helped the runners advance.
With runners on third and second and two outs, Brandon Nimmo lined out to Jose Altuve in left field, ending the frame without a run.
VALDEZ: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB
Altuve was first up against New York’s Clay Holmes, and he struck out swinging in four pitches. Next up was Isaac Paredes in his first at bat as an Astro. With a 1-2 count, he lined out to left field after making contact with a sweeper in the bottom left corner of the zone.
Third in the lineup was Yordan Alvarez. With a full count, he watched a cutter miss the zone, drawing the first walk of the game for Houston’s offense. The scoring chance was short-lived, though, as Christian Walker lined out to the shortstop on the first pitch he faced.
After the first inning: Astros 0, Mets 0
Second Inning
Starling Marte reached first after being hit by a pitch. Tyrone Taylor was next up, and he lined out to Altuve in left. Next up was Luisangel Acuna, who lined out to Jake Meyers in centerfield. Facing Luis Torrens with two outs and nobody on, Valdez forced a groundout to Paredes at third base.
VALDEZ: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB
Batting fifth, Yainer Diaz was first up to start the bottom of the second inning. On the fourth pitch he faced, he flied out to center. Jeremy Pena came to the plate next, and he was hit by a pitch, drawing displeasure from the pro-Houston crowd as he trotted to first.
Next up was Cam Smith, who was taking his first at bat of his MLB career. On the very first pitch he faced, Smith smacked a single to right field that allowed the speedy Pena to race around second and slide into third base. The Astros had runners on the corners with just one out.
Next up was Brendan Rodgers, who drew a walk on a full count to load the bases. Jake Meyers was up to bat ninth, and he grounded to shortstop, allowing Pena to score from third and forcing Rodgers to be out at second. New York tried to turn to first for a double play, but Meyers beat the throw to make the score 1-0 with two outs and runners back on the corners. Meyers has batted in the first run of the Astros’ season!
Next up was Altuve, for his second at bat of the afternoon. With a full count, he struck out swinging on a sinker to end the inning.
After the second inning: Astros 1, Mets 0
Third Inning
Lindor was up to start off the second rotation of the Mets’ lineup. Facing a full count, Valdez made Lindor whiff on a nasty curveball in the bottom of the zone, recording his first strikeout of the season.
Next up was Soto. After drawing three straight balls and a strike, Valdez missed the zone on a curve to send Soto to first for the second time today. Alonso batted next, and he reached base on a fielder’s choice that got Soto out at second base.
Now with two outs, Vientos was up next. He hit a ground ball to third base, which was secured by Paredes. He fired the ball to first, with an off-target throw that forced Walker to extend off the bag. With the extra effort on the catch, Walker was able to easily collide with Vientos for the tag and the inning’s final out.
VALDEZ: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
Paredes started off the bottom of the third at the plate for Houston, and he was walked on four straight balls. Next up was Alvarez, who struck out looking on a sweeper. Walker smacked a single into left field that advanced Paredes to second base.
Diaz was up next, and he followed suit with a single into center field that brought Paredes home from second and sent Walker to replace him at second base.
Pena came to the plate next, and he hit a dribbler to the shortstop that looked like a routine, inning-ending double play. However, after stepping on the bag to get Diaz out at second base, Acuna made an inaccurate throw to first. The error allowed Walker to score and Houston added to its lead.
In his second career plate appearance, Smith grounded out to the shortstop.
After the third inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Fourth Inning
Nimmo was up first for New York, and he struck out swinging for Framber’s second K.
Marte hit a ground ball to third, forcing Paredes to make a diving grab. He slid into the dirt and made the throw to first for the inning’s second out in as many batters.
Taylor was the third man up. On the eighth pitch of a duel, he smacked a fly ball into centerfield, forcing Meyers to get on his horse to get himself under the ball for the third out. Three up and three down for the Mets.
VALDEZ: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Rodgers made his second appearance to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and he struck out swinging.
In his second at bat, Meyers smacked a ground ball that was just out of Lindor’s reach for a single. Altuve got his first hit of the season in his third at bat, singling to center field and sending Meyers into scoring position at second. Paredes had a chance to add to Houston’s lead, but he grounded into a double play that ended the inning.
After the fourth inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Fifth inning
Acuna grounded out to Pena to start the inning. Then, Torrens doubled on a shot to right field.
Lindor was up next to try and capitalize on the scoring chance. On his third pitch, he grounded out to Paredes at third base.
Soto, who reached first base on his first two at bats, came to the plate. He didn’t have the chance to extend the streak though, as Torrens was caught trying to run to third on a wild pitch.
VALDEZ: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Alvarez was back up at the plate to start the Astros’ fifth frame, and he grounded out to second on the third pitch he faced. Walker drew a full count, and he sent a fly ball into left field with potential to drop for a base hit. However, Nimmo dove to his knees to snag the ball for the second out.
Diaz drew a five-pitch walk to keep the inning alive. That walk would be the end of Holmes’ outing, as he was pulled from the game. He finished the day with four strikeouts, allowing five hits, four walks and two earned runs in 4.2 innings.
Huascar Brazoban came to the bump as New York’s first reliever. He was able to force an out from Pena on a fly ball to right field and end the inning.
After the fifth inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Sixth Inning
Soto got another crack at Valdez to start the sixth, and he flied out. Alonso reached base on a single to right field, but Vientos ended the frame when he hit a ground ball to Pena that was easily turned into a double play.
VALDEZ: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K
In Brazoban’s second inning of action, he got two quick outs by way of a Smith groundout and a Rodgers fly out. Meyers kept the frame alive with a single to left field—his second hit of the game.
Facing two outs with a runner on first, Altuve struck out swinging.
After the sixth inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Seventh Inning
Valdez remained on the bump for his seventh inning in command. He first faced Marte, who struck out. Taylor flied out to right field, and Acuna struck out looking to complete the three-up-three down frame.
VALDEZ: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Brazoban returned to the mound for more relief pitching. He first faced Paredes, who struck out swinging on a changeup with a full count. Alvarez came to the plate next, and he drew a walk on a full count of his own. The baserunner prompted a mound visit, but Brazoban remained in the game.
Walker was up, and he hit a dribbler to third base that got Alvarez out at second. However, Walker was able to beat the throw and avoid the inning-sealing double play. Diaz hit a fly ball into deep left-center field, but Nimmo got underneath it for the final out.
After the seventh inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Eighth Inning
Valdez’s day was over after seven scoreless innings, and Bryan Abreu entered the game in relief. The Astros also subbed out Smith for Chas McCormick in right field.
Abreu’s first batter was Jesse Winker, who was pinch hitting in the nine-spot for Torrens. On his first pitch, Abreu forced a ground ball to second base for an easy first out. Lindor struck out swinging for out-number-two. Soto reached base on a four-pitch walk.
With a full count, Alonso forced a walk to bring Soto into scoring position. The runners advanced to third and second, respectively, on a wild pitch. Vientos forced a seven-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs. The walk prompted a mound visit, but Abreu remained in the game.
Nimmo was up, and he hit a shallow fly ball into centerfield. Meyers sprinted forward and secured the catch to strand the runners and keep the game scoreless for New York.
ABREU: 1.0 IP, 3 BB, 1 K
Brazoban’s day ended with 2.1 scoreless innings. He allowed a hit and a walk, but struck out two batters. Next up for the Mets, Danny Young came to the bump.
Young’s first batter was Pena, who singled on a laser into centerfield.
Next up was McCormick, who was making his first plate appearance after subbing in for Smith on defense. He hit a ground ball to third that got him thrown out at first, but Pena was able to cleanly advance to second. Rodgers struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Meyers hit a ground ball to the shortstop, but he was beat by the throw at first base to end the inning.
After the eighth inning: Astros 3, Mets 0
Ninth Inning
Josh Hader entered the game to close things out. His first batter was Marte, who reached first on a ground ball single into left field. Taylor was next up, and he smacked a shallow fly ball into left field that dropped for a single, sending Marte to second base with no outs.
Desparate to slow down the late rally, Hader faced Acuna in a tense 12-pitch duel. Much to his chagrin, his efforts resulted in a walk to load the bases with zero outs.
Now having zero margin for error, Hader faced Hayden Senger who subbed in for Winkler at the nine-spot in the lineup. Hader struck him out in four pitches for the inning’s first out.
Lindor hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield that brought in the Mets’ first run of the game.
With a 3-1 deficit, the Mets were down to their final out with runners on the corners.
Soto forced a full count, and Hader caught him swinging with a nasty slider that ended the game.
HADER: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB
FINAL SCORE: ASTROS 3, METS 1
ASTROS: 7 HITS, 0 ERRORS
METS: 6 HITS, 1 ERROR
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