Making quite an introduction to his new team, Cano homered in his debut at-bat, taking Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer deep to center field on a 1-1 changeup in the first inning Thursday.
The two-out shot made it 1-0 for the visiting Mets. He also had an RBI single in the eighth inning, producing both runs in the Mets' 2-0 victory.
Cano became the first Mets player with an Opening Day homer since David Wright, Andrew Brown and Juan Lagares each homered on March 31, 2014.
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, struck out the other three batters he faced in the opening inning of 2019 -- including Pete Alonso, the first baseman making his major league debut.