NEW YORK — Finally, there he was.

After 721 days, including the past two days of rainouts, Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft — stood on the mound at Citi Field in his MLB return, his first game since April 14, 2022.

He threw a 91.6 mph first-pitch fastball, his slowest heater of the day, for a called strike to begin his battle against the New York Mets.

"I don't know if there was one moment that I took it all in," said Mize, who returned from elbow surgery and back surgery. "I don't want to view anything as a finish line or that this thing is over with, because it's not. ... I gotta keep going, pushing for more and continuing to get better. I feel really good about it."

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The Tigers won, 6-3, in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader. To get there, the Tigers benefitted from scoreless innings from a slew of relievers, with the two extra innings from right-hander Shelby Miller, and a clutch double from rookie Colt Keith to drive in the game-winning run.

But don't forget about Mize.

It was his day.

The 26-year-old gave up three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4⅓ innings, throwing 87 pitches. He continued his success from spring training, posting a 2.21 ERA with nine walks and 20 strikeouts across 20⅓ innings en route to winning a spot in the Opening Day rotation.

Mize threw 34 four-seam fastballs, 29 sliders, 21 splitters and three knuckle curveballs. He generated 10 whiffs with four fastballs, one slider and five splitters. His fastball averaged 94.8 mph and maxed out at 96.8 mph.

"I think I did some things that I really, really liked and that I'm really happy to see," Mize said. "I think the split was a really good pitch for me. I liked my fastball a lot. I think I should have thrown more than I did. I was a little slider-happy. I feel like I could've ended some at-bats earlier with some fastballs."

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Mize fell behind 1-0 in the count to the ever-dangerous Pete Alonso in the first inning, then he threw three strikes in a row: 84.7 mph slider (called strike), 95.6 mph fastball (foul tip) and 96.5 mph fastball (foul tip).

It was his first strikeout of the season.

His fastball remains just as spectacular as it was in spring training.

Mize worked around a leadoff walk and a two-out single in the first inning. He then went three up, three down in the second inning and struck out Tyrone Taylor, a right-handed hitter, with a splitter to end the inning.

It was his first of many nasty splitters.

His splitter has improved since the beginning of spring training.

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Mize had to wait two days longer than planned to make his return. He was supposed to start Tuesday and he was prepared to do so, but after waiting around all day and into the evening, the Tigers and Mets postponed the game.

He is a routine-oriented person to the extreme on his start days.

"The first day was pretty tough," Mize said. "We were here for eight hours or whatever. I wasn't able to mentally check out. I felt like I needed to prepare for a game, so I stayed loose and was in it, which was a little exhausting at the end of the night."

His start was pushed back from Tuesday to Wednesday because of the postponement, but just as the players were getting on the bus to travel to the ballpark on Wednesday afternoon, the Tigers and Mets decided to postpone another game, pushing his start back from Wednesday to Thursday.

Finally, Mize pitched in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader.

"I was able to come to the ballpark today on a semi-normal schedule," Mize said. "I mean, noon (first pitch) is a little bit early, but I felt good about everything and was able to get locked in. I definitely felt prepared and ready to go."

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It was his first game since April 14, 2022, against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The next morning, Mize reported elbow pain to the Tigers after allowing two runs to the Royals across five innings. He underwent two surgeries, including Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and wasn't seen on a big-league mound for 721 days.

In his return, Mize didn't feel any pain.

Only positive vibes.

"I felt a lot out there," Mize said. "Excitement, pride and joy, even if I struggled at times and the box score wasn't great, but obviously, I'm super proud of the work I put in and the people who helped me get back. I was super happy to be back and competing in the big leagues with my team."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize makes MLB return after 721 days away