Isaac Paredes

Walker didn't show any ill effects of the back tightness that sidelined him over the weekend, needing just 13 pitches (nine strikes) to retire Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker in succession. The 29-year-old right-hander has now converted each of his first two save chances while compiling a 3.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 2/1 K/BB ratio across his first three innings.

He also drew a walk. It's the first two RBI of the season for Paredes, and his first runs driven in wearing a Houston uniform. The 26-year-old is hitting a less-than-ideal -- but far from panic-inducing -- .167/.375/.250 over the first three games of 2025.

In a 1-1 game, the Mets let Canning pitch to the top of the order for a third time in the sixth. They almost got away with it, too, but Yordan Alvarez doubled in Isaac Paredes with two outs. Canning definitely looks considerably better than he did last season, but he's still not a guy who is likely to retire Yordan Alvarez three times in a row (in fact, Alvarez was 7-for-13 with two homers and three walks against him during his Angels days). Canning's next start will come next weekend against the Blue Jays.

Paredes homered during Monday's exhibition at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, pulling a ball into the iconic Crawford Boxes in left field. He'll get the nod in the second spot on the lineup card over Jeremy Pena. The 26-year-old boasts strong on-base skills and should benefit exponentially from a counting stats perspective by hitting ahead of franchise cornerstone Yordan Alvarez. It's a significant boost to his fantasy value and it wouldn't be shocking if Paredes wound up finishing as a borderline top-10 third baseman this season for fantasy purposes.

Manager Joe Espada announced Monday that Paredes will hit out of the second spot in the batting order to begin the season, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.