New York right-hander Jacob deGrom pitched six scoreless innings and Robinson Cano had a solo homer in the first inning and an RBI single in the eighth as the Mets beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Thursday in the season opener before a sellout crowd of 42,263 in Washington, D.C.

The reigning Cy Young winner, deGrom (1-0) was lifted after allowing five hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts. He threw 93 pitches, 59 for strikes. Seth Lugo took over in the seventh for the Mets and struck out the side, including Nationals starter Max Scherzer to end the frame with the score 1-0.

Mets rookie Pete Alonso got his first big-league hit in the eighth, and Cano followed with an RBI single off lefty reliever Matt Grace to make it 2-0. Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth for his first save in a Mets uniform.

Scherzer (0-1) was lifted with two outs in the eighth in favor of Justin Miller, who came on with a runner on first and gave up the single to Alonso. Scherzer gave up two runs on two hits with 12 strikeouts.

Cano hit a changeup from Scherzer for a solo homer with two outs in the first to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. deGrom fanned Scherzer, Victor Robles and Adam Eaton in order in the fifth.

It was a showdown of the two pitchers who have combined for the past three Cy Young Awards in the National League.

deGrom, who signed a contract extension earlier this week, was 10-9 and led MLB with a 1.70 ERA last season. Scherzer was 18-7 with an ERA of 2.53 and a majors-best 300 strikeouts in 2018.

Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, who led the National League with 43 steals last year, had three steals in as many tries against deGrom and catcher Wilson Ramos. Ramos, who batted fifth and was 1-for-4, played for the Nationals from 2010-16.

There was a moment of silence before the game for Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who died in February at 83. He was the first manager of the Nationals in 2005 and won the Triple Crown and American League MVP for the Baltimore Orioles in 1966.

--Field Level Media