Game 1; Mets at Marlins

The Mets won their first game of 2008 with a seven to two final over the Florida Marlins. Johan Santana, Angel Pagan, Ryan Church, Brian Schneider and Matt Wise made their Mets debuts.

5 Points

1. Santana was perfect through three but lost his momentum after a two-strike pitch right down the middle was called a ball to Hanley Ramirez, which led to a walk. Santana pitched seven innings, K'd eight, walked two and allowed only three hits. His only mistake was a high fastball to Josh Willingham, which became a two-run homer.

2. Luis Castillo looked great. He reached base three times in the game with two walks and a perfect bunt. He was also on his game defensively and stole the first base of the Mets 2008 season.

3. The Mets were patient at the plate during the game -- a problem that plagued them at the end of 2007. The Mets drew five walks in total and only struck out three times.

4. The bullpen was sharp today in relief of Santana. Matt Wise came on in the 8th and struggled a bit, but Scott Schoeneweiss and Jorge Sosa stranded both runners he let reach base. Aaron Heilman came in to pitch the ninth and recorded two strikeouts in a perfect inning.

5. The Mets offense was relatively quiet throughout the game, but exploded for six runs in the fourth inning, which included a three-run double from David Wright.