The Mets opened up the season in
Cincinnati against the
Cincinnati Reds on April 6. The Mets collected the victory, improving their win–loss record on
Opening Day. The first ever home game at
Citi Field was on April 13 against the
San Diego Padres, who spoiled the opener with a 6–5 win against the Mets. In that game,
Jody Gerut of the Padres became the first player to open a new ballpark with a leadoff home run. On April 17,
Gary Sheffield hit his
500th home run against the
Milwaukee Brewers. On May 10,
José Reyes stole his 300th base against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite an injury depleted roster, the Mets finished May with a 19–9 record and trailed the
Philadelphia Phillies by a half game for the NL East lead. After finishing April and May with a combined record of 28–21, On August 23, the Mets became the first team in
National League history to fall victim to a game-ending
unassisted triple play, turned by
Eric Bruntlett of the
Philadelphia Phillies at
Citi Field in the bottom of the 9th inning. The 2009 Mets season will be remembered as a season marred by injuries. On August 25, it was announced that ace
Johan Santana would undergo season-ending elbow surgery on his pitching elbow, and was added to the long list of injured players. Including Santana, the Mets' had 20 players see time on the
disabled list at some point during the 2009 season, including
David Wright,
John Maine,
Jon Niese,
Fernando Nieve,
J. J. Putz,
Billy Wagner,
Brian Schneider,
Carlos Delgado,
Ángel Pagán,
Gary Sheffield,
Óliver Pérez,
Ryan Church,
Ramón Martínez,
José Reyes,
Alex Cora,
Carlos Beltrán, and
Fernando Martinez. Mets players spent more than 1,480 days in the DL in 2009, more than any other team in the majors. However, second-half turnarounds of Francoeur and
Daniel Murphy helped the Mets finish the season with the best batting average in the National League, tied with the
Los Angeles Dodgers. On August 25, the Mets traded former all-star closer
Billy Wagner to the
Boston Red Sox for minor league outfielder
Chris Carter and minor league first baseman Eddie Loria. The Mets finished with a 70–92 record and 4th place in the NL East, missing the playoffs for the third straight year.
Season standings Record vs. opponents Game log Please do not edit this line: OgreBot End--> ==Player stats==