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 Handed the opening day assignment in place of injured Johan Santana, Niese enjoyed a big afternoon with both his arm and bat. He breezed into the seventh inning against a Padres lineup missing slugger Chase Headley (broken thumb) and catcher Yasmani Grandal, suspended for the first 50 games after testing positive for testosterone.
Marlon Byrd had a pair of RBI singles and fellow Mets newcomer John Buck was in the middle of three rallies as New York improved baseball's best opening day record to 34-18 despite dropping its first eight openers.
The Mets have won 20 of their last 22 home openers.
Niese had a perfect day at the plate, tying his career high with two hits. He had an RBI single in the second off an ineffective Edinson Volquez (0-1), then drew a leadoff walk and scored in a three-run fourth.
David Wright received a warm ovation when he was introduced as the fourth Mets captain. He stole two bases and made a diving play at third base in his first game since signing a $138 million, eight-year contract -- the richest in team history.
Byrd and Buck each had an RBI single in the third. Cowgill doubled to key the fourth-inning rally, which included a run-scoring groundout by Wright and an RBI single by Daniel Murphy on his 28th birthday.
Volquez, making his third straight opening day start after helping the Dominican Republic win the World Baseball Classic last month, was charged with six runs, six hits and three walks in three-plus innings. He dropped to 0-5 in six career starts against the Mets.
Cowgill, batting leadoff after winning the center field job this spring, hit his first career grand slam off Brad Bach in the seventh to make it 11-2. The only other opening day slam in Mets history was hit by Todd Hundley on April 26, 1995, at Colorado.
Cowgill was acquired from Oakland in a December trade. His drive to left gave the Mets their most runs since Niese beat Philadelphia 11-1 on July 3 last year.
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With the Yankees hosting the rival Boston Red Sox across town, the Mets announced a sellout crowd of 41,053 at windy Citi Field, where the Padres won the ballpark's first game in 2009. The last time two New York teams opened at home on the same day was April 17, 1956, when it was the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, according to STATS
Niese (1-0) gave up Carlos Quentin's run-scoring single and Yonder Alonso's solo homer in 6 2-3 innings before walking off to a standing ovation.
Scott Rice, making his big league debut after spending 14 seasons in the minors, struck out two in a perfect ninth.
NOTES: Touted prospect Jedd Gyorko made his major league debut for the Padres. He stranded four runners in his first two at-bats, then doubled past a diving Wright in the sixth for his first hit. Gyorko started at second base and moved to third in a double switch. ... Padres pitching prospect Casey Kelly, a key piece in the trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston in December 2010, is scheduled for Tommy John surgery Tuesday on his right elbow. It will be performed by Dr. James Andrews. ... Headley, the NL RBI leader last year with 115, is expected to miss at least the first two weeks of the season. ... Santana, the one-time Mets ace, is scheduled for another surgery Tuesday that he hopes can save his career. The left-hander re-tore the anterior capsule in his pitching shoulder. ... New York placed Santana, closer Frank Francisco (elbow surgery), RHP Jenrry Mejia (elbow tendon inflammation) and RHP Shaun Marcum (biceps tendinitis) on the 15-day disabled list. All the moves were retroactive to March 22, so Marcum remains penciled in to start Sunday against Miami. ... Fans got a kick out of the Mets' wacky "Harlem Shake" video when it ran on the big board between innings. The team filmed the video, featuring outlandish costumes and goofy dancing by longtime media relations guru Jay Horwitz, in the clubhouse after a voluntary workout Sunday and it quickly became an Internet attraction. ... Rusty Staub, a member of the Mets' Hall of Fame, threw out the first pitch on his 69th birthday as the club celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1973 pennant. ... Ike Davis went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts.
[Associated
Press; By MIKE FITZPATRICK]
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