Lindor, Mets Beat Sandy and the Marlins

Miami, FL—Five days after he defeated the New York Mets in Queens, Sandy Alcantara was tasked with the same assignment on Friday night at loanDepot Park. The Marlins welcomed the Metropolitans into town as a stronger ball club than they were the last time they faced each other—Jesús Aguilar and Jesús Sánchez were reinstated from the injured list in the interim and were both in the lineup for the series opener.

After two quick outs in the top of the first, Marlin killer Francisco Lindor took Alcantara deep for his 12th home run. It was the first home run allowed by Sandy since May 11th. That blast gave the Mets an early 1-0 lead.

The Marlins got that run right back for their ace. Jon Berti led the inning off with an infield single but was picked off by Mets starter Taijuan Walker. Manager Don Mattingly challenged, but after review, the call stood. Back-to-back singles by Jazz Chisholm and Jorge Soler put runners on the corners with one out when Garrett Cooper came through with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.

Sandy had been perfect aside from the Lindor homer until the 5th inning when former Marlin farmhand Mark Canha turned on a 98 mph fastball for a home run into the Recess Lounge. It was the first time Alcantara had surrendered multiple homers in the same game since May 1st against Seattle.

Just like they did in the first, the Marlins answered right back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 5th. Berti and Chisholm singled, and Soler drove in Berti with an RBI groundout, which tied the game again. Chisholm left the game in the top of the sixth with lower back spasms.

That half inning had some drama. After Thomas Nido and Brandon Nimmo reached base via infield singles, former Marlin Starling Marte dribbled one towards 2nd base. Astudillo tagged Nimmo and threw to first for the double play. After the Mets challenged, however, it was revealed that Marte beat the throw to first and Nimmo was safe due to Astudillo tagging him with an empty glove, and the ball was in his bare hand. Therefore all runners were safe.

Lindor came through again, this time with a bases-clearing double, which gave the Mets a 5-2 lead.

The Marlins loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th with nobody out, but managed to score only one run on a two-out walk by Cooper, which made it 5-3.

The score remained the same the rest of the way as Miami’s three-game win streak ended. Dylan Floro made easy work of the Mets in the top of the 8th, flashing mid-90s fastball velocity for the first time all season. Jimmy Yacabonis had an impressive inning of relief as well in which he struck out the side in the 9th.

The Marlins lost to the Mets 5-3 and fell to 32-37, while the Mets improved to 46-26. Trevor Rogers will look to tie this series at one game apiece as he goes up against Chris Bassitt Saturday afternoon.

Fans, make sure to get there early as it’s Jazz Chisholm Bobblehead Day at the park!