NYM 3, MIA 6; Cabrera, Marlins Earn Game 1 W

Miami, FL—Aside from evaluating who will be a part of their 2023 plans, the Marlins don’t have much to play for in these final few weeks. Things could not be more opposite for the New York Mets, who came into loanDepot Park a mere half-game ahead of the Atlanta Braves for first place. Thanks to an all-of-a-sudden productive offense and a nice start from Edward Cabrera, the Marlins were able to play spoilers on Friday night.

After a 1-2-3 top of the first for Edward Cabrera, the Marlins gave him some early run support. Brian Anderson drew a one-out walk, and Garrett Cooper followed with a two-run home run into the AutoNation Alley. It was Coop’s first home run since the All-Star break, and it gave Miami an early 2-0 lead.

Cabrera had an easy top of the second in which he struck out the side but then ran into trouble in the third. After a one-out double by Tomás Nido, Brandon Nimmo laced a single into center to cut the Marlins’ lead in half. After Francisco Lindor singled for the Mets’ third consecutive hit against Cabrera, he was able to induce a ginormous 3-6-1 double play to escape further damage.

In the bottom of the fourth, Miami was able to get that run right back. Nick Fortes led off the frame with a walk and scored all the way from first on a ringing double by Miguel Rojas, which extended their lead to 3-1.

Miami’s offense wasn’t done. After Cooper doubled for his third hit of the game (third consecutive multi-hit game), Nick Fortes hit a laser off the wall to extend Miami’s lead to 3.

Cabrera was cruising up until the 6th, where he surrendered a two-out, two-run home run to Pete Alonso. That trimmed Miami’s lead down to one.

He was taken out with two out in the 6th after what was a very encouraging outing from the young right-hander. His final line was: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. 97 pitches, 60 strikes. He had a max velocity of 97.5 mph. He threw his changeup more than any other pitch on Friday night (30.9% of the time).

The Mets loaded the bases in the seventh inning against the struggling Tanner Scott. Steven Okert rescued him by getting Lindor to ground into a double play.

The Marlins were able to get some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Fortes reached on an infield single and Charles Leblanc drilled a two-run shot to right to extend their lead to 6-3. That wound up being the final score.

Miami won their second game in a row for the first time since August 23rd, and they improved to 57-80. The Mets fell to 87-52, and no longer are in sole possession of first place in the NL East (pending the result of a late-night Braves game).

Baseball Savant

The Marlins’ Roberto Clemente Award nominee Pablo López will take the mound on Saturday night and oppose fellow Venezuelan Carlos Carrasco. The Marlins will wear their Sugar Kings jerseys on Colombian Heritage Night at loanDepot Park.