NYM 5, MIA 3; Defense lets Marlins down

After losing the first two games of the series and their last 3 overall, the Mets looked to get back on track on Wednesday night. The 9,760 fans at loanDepot Park—most of them rooting for the boys from Queens—saw them do exactly that.

Zach Thompson was on the mound for the Marlins in this one, and he did what he’s done all year: keep his team in the game. After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Thompson ran into trouble in the second inning. Dominic Smith led the frame off with a double, followed by a Javier Baez single and a walk to Michael Conforto. With the bases loaded and nobody out, former Marlin Jonathan Villar drove in Smith with an RBI groundout.

With one out, Mets catcher Tomás Nido grounded a ball to Jesús Aguilar who threw home, but newly acquired Baez was able to beat the tag with a mesmerizing slide. Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco then laid down a bunt to Thompson, who promptly threw the ball into center field, allowing another run to score.

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Thompson kept the Mets scoreless through the rest of his outing, finishing the day with 4 innings pitched and allowing 3 runs (2 earned), the victim of both bad luck and bad defense behind him.

In only his second start of the season, Carrasco was dealing through four and kept the Marlins bats at bay. In the fifth however, they were finally able to get to him. Alfaro and De La Cruz led the inning off with back-to-back singles, and Joe Panik came through with an RBI single off the bench, knocking Carrasco out of the game. De La Cruz later scored on a Jazz Chisholm fielder’s choice.

Carrasco finished his day with 2 ER over 4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, and 5 K. He will be a big addition for the deGrom-less Mets rotation down the stretch.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jeurys Familia was brought in to pitch to the meat of the Marlins order only to be greeted by an Aguilar home run to tie the game. He then struck out the side to end the inning.

After a couple of scoreless frames from the Marlins bullpen (Pop and Bleier), Rowson gave the 8th inning to Anthony Bass. Flashy shortstop Javy Baez led the inning off with a laser of a home run to right field (101 EV, 358 ft). While rounding third, Baez seemed to have had some words for the Marlins dugout.

Later in the inning, Alex Jackson’s passed ball allowed another run to score, making it 5-3 New York.

The Mets ended up winning by that margin, as they improved to 56-51. They remain in first place in the NL East by a game and a half over the Phillies. The Marlins, meanwhile, fall to 46-62, last in the division.

The series finale is Thursday at 12:10 PM. Rich Hill will pitch for the Mets. Braxton Garrett gets the start for the Marlins, taking Trevor Rogers’ turn in the rotation as Rogers continues to tend to a family emergency.

Debut:

Sean Guenther made his big league debut tonight, pitching a scoreless inning while scattering two hits as well as picking up his first 2 Major League strikeouts.

Baseball Savant

Fish Picks Answer Key

1. Carlos Carrasco
2. Under
3. Over
4. No
5. Mets