Matt Seelinger returned home Tuesday to make his big league debut. It was not a happy homecoming for the 31-year-old Westbury, LI, native.
The career minor leaguer's night didn't go quite as he'd hoped.
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He entered a tie game in the seventh but allowed seven earned runs, including a home run to Nick Loftin and a bases-loaded walk to Carter Jensen . He concluded the seventh with his first two career strikeouts, whiffing Jac Caglianone and future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez .
His second inning went much more smoothly. Seelinger allowed only one hit, a double to Loftin, and two flyouts and a groundout concluded the inning before any further damage.
"It obviously wasn't the best way that I wanted to start my major league career," Seelinger said after the 16-12 loss . "But I was very proud to recollect myself in the dugout and get my bearings and get out there and compete, put up a zero in that inning and help the team out."
By the end of his first major league outing, Seelinger's ERA was 31.50.
"Obviously the tough first inning for Seelinger," interim manager Andy Green said. "Big of him to go back out there and give us another inning after going over 40 pitches in one inning.
"You never really want to ask that of a guy. You care about those guys on the mound, you want to put them in positions to succeed. It was a tough ask."
Matt Seelinger made his major league debut for the Mets in their 16-12 loss to the Royals on July 7, 2026 at Citi Field. Robert Sabo for New York Post
It was a sad sight in a strange game in Queens. The Mets and Royals, two of the bottom-dwellers of the major leagues this season, traded runs throughout the night. The Mets scored their first three on a Little League home run where the Royals committed three throwing errors, and it all ended in a wild loss in a stadium Seelinger knows well.
It's not the first time the journeyman has come home to play baseball. Seelinger pitched in 21 games for the Long Island Ducks in 2024. Since then, he's pitched in 31 games for Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo in the Tigers system. In 39 ¹/₃ innings for Toledo this season, he recorded a 3.89 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 19 walks.
Matt Seelinger reacts after giving up a two-run home run to Nick Loftin (12) during the seventh inning of the Mets' loss to the Royals. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Despite the rough debut, Seelinger has plenty of happy memories at Citi Field.
"I was throwing [Monday], and I was like 'I've sat there for a game, I've sat there for a game, I sat there for a New York Rangers Winter Classic back in the day, I went to the Home Run Derby here and all that.' … I couldn't be more thankful for the Mets to give me this opportunity," Seelinger said pregame Tuesday.
Matt Seelinger of the Erie SeaWolves pitching during against the Altoona Curve at Peoples Natural Gas Field on June 15, 2025 in Altoona, Pa. Minor League Baseball via Getty
Seelinger is familiar with Mets history and its heartbreaks, despite rooting for another team growing up.
"Well, I hate to say it, but I was a Yankee fan growing up. I didn't want to say it, but you squeezed it out of me. But don't get it twisted, I had the heartbreak of the '06 Mets, I knew that, '07, '08, we don't have to bring those years up, but I know all about it, and '15 obviously and all that.
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"In '24, it was cool watching, the city was unbelievable. It was so fun to be here with the Mets and the Yankees going at it, almost playing each other in the World Series. I'll never forget watching Pete Alonso 's home run, and Lindor's grand slam … as an avid baseball fan, you can never forget that."
Seelinger, who held on to the balls from his first major league pitch and first strikeout, also shared his experience with his family on his big day.
"Everyone was crying. It was unbelievable. I saw them coming out after the first inning. … After the game, that's a special moment that I've been waiting for my whole life."
