Michael Cuddyer jogged out to left field for the ninth inning of his first home game with the Mets, having just sprinted home with an insurance run.
The largest crowd in Citi Field regular-season history had so far been rewarded for its renewed optimism, but new closer Jeurys Familia had walked the Phillies leadoff hitter, Carlos Ruiz, bringing the tying run to the plate and bringing back a familiar feeling of dread to the fans.
Then, Grady Sizemore hit a grounder to the right side, smoothly turned for a double play, as Cuddyer's eyes shifted from first base to the crowd. Even without the experience of playing for the Mets at Citi Field in front of the customary paltry crowds, Cuddyer could not believe the pop, a sound of exhilaration the 15-year veteran had heard a handful of times in his career.
And it's only April.
"I was telling David [Wright], I've played a lot of regular-season ballgames, but after that double play was turned in the ninth, looking in the crowd and seeing people high-fiving each other and the excitement and the passion, it was one of the first times in a regular-season game I had chills. I literally had chills," Cuddyer said following Monday's 2-0 win. "When you get chills in a regular-season game, that's pretty special. It's fun as a player to see that excitement and that passion because that's what you're doing inside. When that double play happened, I was high-fiving myself inside. To see everyone else reacting the same way was fun."
The Mets' lone big-ticket free agent this offseason, Cuddyer enjoyed a solid debut in Queens, going 2-for-4 with a run.
The 36-year-old received a solid ovation during his introduction, but opened the game with a groundout and a strikeout. Batting .192, the two-time All-Star was building what could have been the beginning of an early chorus of boos — which Mike Piazza endured and Jason Bay never shook off — but Cuddyer received some much-needed help from above, as the sun blinded Sizemore on a fly ball to right field in the sixth inning, the ball hitting the turf to give Cuddyer a triple.
With the Mets still leading 1-0 in the eighth, Cuddyer hit a one-out single up the middle, then advanced to third on a fielding error by Chase Utley on the next at-bat. Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly to left then sent Cuddyer home with the second run, beating Ben Revere's throw.
"It didn't start out the way I planned it, but I envisioned winning the game, especially with the record-setting crowd we had," Cuddyer said. "It was awesome. Hopefully, this continues to be an atmosphere like it was today."
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