Marlins vs. Mets: Start time, how to watch, game thread and Fish Picks—August 7, 2020

Welcome to Friday’s Marlins (6-1) vs. Mets (5-8) game thread. These teams will play their entire season series against one another over the next three weeks (10 games in 20 days).

It’s only been seven games, but hot streaks like this so early in an organization’s rebuild simply don’t happen:

Fish Picks is BACK and better than ever! Our free-to-play daily prop bets contest is open to all fans. I was thrilled to see so many participants during the season-opening series against the Phillies. Courtesy of a new Fish Stripes partnership with Fantom Drip, weekly points leaders will win their choice of a Marlins face covering (five different varieties available). First winner to be selected based on July 24-August 9 point totals.

Miami Marlins Face Cover

• $12

• $12 at Fantom Drip

The Fish Picks leaderboard will update daily to let you know where you stand.

Marlins Lineup

1. SS Jonathan Villar
2. 2B Eddy Alvarez
3. LF Corey Dickerson
4. DH Jesús Aguilar
5. 3B Brian Anderson
6. RF Matt Joyce
7. C Francisco Cervelli
8. 1B Logan Forsythe
9. CF Magneuris Sierra

RHP Humberto Mejía

Notes: The great Jayson Stark has a new column at The Athletic about how extraordinary it is that the Marlins have sustained this winning streak despite such adverse circumstances (subscription required)...Mejía is set to become the first Marlins prospect to skip Double-A and Triple-A and start a major league game since José Fernández (2013), and the first Panamian-born Marlins starting pitcher since Rafael Medina (1998-1999)...Each of the Marlins players who were recently infected with COVID-19 continue to test positive, Craig Mish reports. Still awhile away from potentially returning.

Mets Lineup

1. CF Brandon Nimmo
2. LF Jeff McNeil
3. DH Pete Alonso
4. RF Michael Conforto
5. 3B J.D. Davis
6. 1B Dominic Smith
7. C Wilson Ramos
8. 2B Andres Gimenez
9. SS Amed Rosario

P Michael Wacha

Baseball Savant

Notes: Let’s see how much Thursday’s off day benefits a Mets squad that was inconsistent through the first two weeks of the season...They will still be without veteran second baseman Robinson Cano, who isn’t eligible to return from the injured list until Aug. 14. The absences of Canó and Yoenis Ceépedes leaves the Mets lineup with limited power potential; even with them, they have a middling .381 slugging percentage in 2020...Cervelli has some history against Wacha from their days as NL Central rivals (.889 OPS in 18 PA).

How to watch/listen/follow

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Watch on FOX Sports Florida and via MLB.TV or listen on 940 WINZ. All Marlins team broadcasters will remain in South Florida, calling the game remotely.

Fish Picks

Please comment below or tweet to @fishstripes with your picks for the following props. The contest locks at the start of the first game.

1. Which team throws more total pitches? (Marlins/Mets)
2. Over/Under 9.5 Marlins hits? (Over/Under)
3. Over/Under 95.9 mph fastest pitch of the game? (Over/Under)
4. Will Brian Anderson drive in any runs? (Yes/No)
5. Who wins? (Marlins/Mets)