Marlins 5, Mets 2: López impresses, wins MLB debut

This series couldn’t possibly be going any better for the Marlins. Following Sandy Alcántara’s debut, fellow rookie Pablo López looked even more polished on Saturday afternoon. The offense awoke just in time to earn him a winning decision and leapfrog the Mets into fourth place. The final score was 5-2.

• Pablo López: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB (intentional), 5 K (97 pitches)
• Jacob deGrom: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (84 pitches)

A summary of López’s first inning in two tweets:

But thankfully, he excelled from there. Leaning heavily on his famous two-seam fastball, the 22-year-old pounded the strike zone. The only walk López issued over six innings was intentional. He made a compelling case to stick on the major league roster moving forward.

López also mixed in 19 knee-buckling curveballs.

What a treat for all his countrymen/countrywomen who came out to Marlins Park on Venezuelan Heritage Day.

Despite showing electric stuff and command, deGrom finally cracked the third time through Miami’s lineup. Who else but All-Star candidate Brian Anderson?

And then, the Mets’ general “Mets-iness” took over:

J.T. Realmuto added some valuable insurance in the bottom of the seventh. An Amed Rosario error on a routine grounder extended the inning, and Realmuto’s two-run double made it 5-2.

The three-headed bullpen monster of Adam Conley, Drew Steckenrider and Kyle Barraclough put the game to bed from there. The latter two went the entire month of June without allowing any runs (Conley only allowed three earned runs).

Ain’t it beautiful, folks?

ESPN

Attempting to complete the sweep and hold onto their fourth-place spot in the NL East, the Marlins send Dan Straily to the mound on Sunday. He’s fresh off serving a five-game suspension. Steven Matz opposes Straily for the Mets. First pitch 1:10pm.

Courtesy of FanGraphs

Attendance: 10,523

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Matchup Summary

Weird-but-encouraging performance from Sandy Alcántara, who pitched five innings of one-run ball to earn the W on Friday night. The Marlins top pitching prospect leaned very heavily on his changeup and threw barely half of his 98 pitches for strikes. Alcántara is lined up to make his next start on July 4.

Lewis Brinson and JT Riddle both homered. They’re back in Saturday’s lineup to try and put the finishing touches on a very productive month.

Meanwhile, the Mets run back the same position player group, too. But instead of rookie Corey Oswalt on the mound, it will be staff ace Jacob DeGrom. The stats speak for themselves: he’s as good as it gets.

All eyes will be on right-hander Pablo López as he makes his MLB debut, replacing Ben Meyer on the active roster. Expect a large cheering section for him at Marlins Park:

Thread Question: Where would you rank deGrom among the best starters in the National League? Not-so-special 3.62 ERA in his career vs. the Marlins, but he’s taken it to a whole new level in 2018.