The Mets (31-23) defeated the Miami Marlins (29-27) by a score of 6-4 today at Marlins Park, and in the process, secured the series victory.
Pitching:
Bartolo Colon toed the rubber for the Mets this evening, and despite getting hit hard, was able to limit the damage and hold the Marlins to just two runs over five innings.
Martin Prado took Big Sexy deep in the first inning for the first Marlins run, and in the second with the bases loaded, Colon got Justin Nicolino to hit a ground ball that should have ended the inning, but Wilmer Flores decided to come home with the ball, and the run scored due to Kevin Plawecki‘s foot being off home plate. 2-0 Fish.
The struggling Hansel Robles came on for the sixth inning in a tied game to relieve Colon and promptly gave the lead right back after two walks and a double to Miguel Rojas.
Jerry Blevins and Jim Henderson kept the Marlins off the board in the rest of the sixth and seventh thanks to a huge catch from Juan Lagares who made a diving catch to save two runs, and Addison Reed pitched a clean eighth before handing the ball over to Jeurys Familia who notched his 18th save of the year.
Offense:
In the third inning, Kevin Plawecki doubled, but was quickly picked off at second base to end any threat the Mets posed that inning.
Plawecki today had one of the most miserable games I’ve seen from a major leaguer in quite some time.
The backstop made the aforementioned error that scored a run for the Marlins in the second and was picked off on one of the worst pickoff attempts I’ve seen get a runner out also struck out twice and left five runners on base at the plate today.
The Mets got on the board in the fourth, as James Loney drove in a run with a single to right. Loney had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-5.
In the sixth inning with the bases loaded, Michael Conforto came to the plate and tied the game with a sacrifice fly to score Neil Walker from third.
In the eighth inning with the Marlins leading 3-2, James Loney doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball. The first baseman would score on a single up the middle from Michael Conforto to tie the game in the late goings.
Later in the inning, David Phelps intentionally walked Curtis Granderson to face pinch hitter Matt Reynolds, who made him pay, breaking the tie with a single to right center.
In the ninth inning, the Mets tacked on two insurance runs on a ground rule double with the bases loaded from Alejandro De Aza.
This would prove to be more than enough as the Mets secured the victory and series.
On deck:
The Mets will look for the sweep tomorrow, as Matt Harvey (4-7, 5.37 ERA) takes on Jose Fernandez (8-2, 2.53 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM.
