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Stony Brook alum Travis Jankowski gets three hits in Mets win in home opener

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Stony Brook University alum Travis Jankowski started in center field and had three of the Mets’ 12 hits in New York’s 10-3 home opening win Friday over Arizona at Citi Field in Queens.

Filling in for Brandon Nimmo, who along with outfielder Nick Canha was placed on injured reserve by the Mets after they tested positive for COVID-19, Jankowski went 3-for-4 with a run scored, raising his batting average this season to a hefty .625, albeit in just eight at bats.

The speedy reserve outfielder also has two stolen bases for the Mets. In 2012, he was the best player on a Stony Brook team that played in the College World Series.

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Francisco Lindor homered from both sides of the plate to back another stingy start from Mets newcomer Chris Bassitt. Starling Marte launched a three-run bomb in his first home game with the Mets, and Robinson Canó connected for a home run for the first time since September 2020 after serving his second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs last season.

It was the first time that the Mets homered four times in their home opener.

Pete Alonso lofted a pair of early sacrifice flies for New York (6-2), which has the most wins in the majors.

Acquired from Oakland in a trade last month, Bassitt (2-0) allowed one run and two hits in six innings. He received a warm ovation from the sellout crowd of 43,820 as he walked off the mound at the end of his Citi Field debut.

The All-Star right-hander struck out six and walked two. He fanned eight over six innings of three-hit ball last Saturday in his initial outing for the Mets, a 5-0 win at Washington.

New York has won 11 in a row against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field, outscoring Arizona 68-21.

Daulton Varsho socked his first homer of the season off Bassitt in the sixth.

Batting left-handed, Lindor chased Zach Davies (0-1) with a two-run drive into the second deck in right field that made it 5-0 in the fifth. The $341 million shortstop followed Marte’s three-run homer in the eighth with a shot to left off reliever Caleb Smith.

It was Lindor’s 14th career multi-homer game and the fourth time the switch-hitter has gone deep from both sides of the plate.

Lindor also walked twice, stole a base and scored three times. It was an auspicious start to 2022 at Citi Field after he was often booed last year during a miserable first season with the Mets.

Marte, who signed a $78 million, four-year contract as a free agent in November, also stole a base and scored three times. He finished with three hits.

After unveiling a long-awaited statue of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver outside Citi Field in a pregame ceremony on Jackie Robinson Day around the majors, Bassitt and three Mets relievers limited the Diamondbacks to three hits in the team’s 11th consecutive home victory over Arizona since the start of 2018.

New York starters are 6-0 this season, and the Mets improved to 40-21 in home openers — including 10-4 at Citi Field.

With Associated Press reporting.

Featured photo: New York Mets’ Starling Marte, center left, celebrates with Francisco Lindor, left, and Travis Jankowski, right, after hitting a three-run home run off Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Caleb Smith in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 15, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

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