Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

After a win in the series opener on Tuesday night, the Mets sent Rich Hill to the mound in Miami on Wednesday night. Hill was coming off of what was the best outing of his Mets career thus far where he threw six scoreless against Washington on September 3. The Mets hoped that the streak would continue as they faced the Marlins. 

Hill started his night by getting both Miguel Rojas and Jazz Chisholm to ground out for the first and second outs. Then, Jorge Alfaro proceeded to fly out to second baseman Javier Baez to end the first for Hill. 

 In the second, right fielder Jesus Sanchez struck out swinging for the first out and Hill’s first strikeout of the night. The next batter for the Marlins was Bryan De La Cruz who doubled on an 0-2 pitch to right fielder Michael Conforto. Lewin Diaz then grounded out to Baez who threw to Alonso for the out, advancing De La Cruz to third. 

With a runner on third and two out, Hill gave up an RBI single to Alex Jackson just over shortstop Francisco Lindor’s head, giving the Marlins the 1-0 lead. Isan Diaz kept the inning going by singling to right field, moving Jackson to third. But with runners on first and third and two out, Hill got Sandy Alcantara swinging to end the threat. 

Rojas started off the bottom of the third by lining out to Baez at second. Hill then got Chisholm swinging at a slider for his second strikeout of the night. Alfaro then grounded out to Lindor who threw to first for the out. After a shaky second, Hill had a successful 1-2-3 inning to bounce back. 

The bottom of the fourth started with Sanchez striking out on a slider for Hill’s third strikeout. De La Cruz then singled to left fielder Jeff McNeil, for his second hit off of Hill. With a man on, Lewin Diaz popped out to Baez for the second out. Jackson then struck out for the third out on a four-seam fastball from Hill. 

In Hill’s fifth inning of work, Diaz flew out to Lindor to start. Then the pitcher, Sandy Alcantara, struck out for the second time in the game. The next batter was Rojas who got hit by an 89 MPH four-seam fastball from Hill. The baserunner wouldn’t matter because Chisholm struck out next at-bat. After giving up the run in the second, Hill was cruising through his start. 

The bottom of the sixth started with an Alfaro ground ball single. Then Sanchez struck out for the third time, for Hill’s eighth strikeout of the night. With one out, De La Cruz lined out sharply to center fielder Kevin Pillar. Lewin Diaz then popped out to third base to end the inning, as well as Hill’s night. Jeurys Familia was called on to pitch the bottom of the seventh as the Mets tied the game on a Michael Conforto home run. 

Rich Hill’s final line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 8K

Over Hill’s last three starts for the Mets, he has posted a 1.59 ERA over 17 IP, which has been crucial during this run. 

One stat of note from Hill’s strong start is his season-best 12 whiffs on breaking balls. He tossed a couple of great breaking balls in the outing including this one that knocked Chisholm’s helmet off.

Another solid start is what the Mets needed from their deadline acquisition and that is what they got on Wednesday in Miami. Although the game was lost in extras, the Mets offense was insufficient throughout Hill’s tenure in the game, as Alcantara kept them in check.

This was a game that paired with a Rich Hill gem and facing the Marlins that would’ve helped the Mets gain a game in the NL East standings had they pulled it out.