Game Recap: Mets Win 4-1 Over Marlins, Secure Series Victory
The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 4-1, on Saturday night in Flushing, moving the Mets to 19-20 on the season and leaving them three games behind the division-leading Phillies (21-16). (Box Score)
Jacob deGrom pitched seven strong innings (one run, three hits, eight strikeouts, one walk) to pick up the win.
With the game tied in the sixth, Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto went back-to-back to put the Mets ahead, and deGrom added an insurance run later in the frame with an RBI single.
Conforto went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk, deGrom picked up two hits, and Amed Rosario, Jeff McNeil, and Robinson Cano all notched a hit apiece.
Pitching
Mets starter Jacob deGrom came into Saturday night’s tilt versus the Miami Marlins with a 3.60 earned-run average, 3.47 FIP, an NL-best 12.60 strikeouts per nine innings, and 2.93 walks per nine over his first seven starts (40 innings).
The 30-year-old right-hander hasn’t had as smooth a ride as he had in 2018, cruising to his first National League Cy Young Award, but has seen his level of production keep his name solidified among the game’s elite hurlers.
With the MLB-worst Marlins in town for a three-game set, deGrom was surely looking forward to a pescatarian feast. And feast, he did.
Jacob deGrom struck out Miguel Rojas on three pitches to start his night — the knockout punch coming on a big whiff via a nasty slider — then retired Brian Anderson and Starlin Castro to close out a perfect first.
DeGrom retired Neil Walker, struck out Garrett Cooper looking at a 97 mph outside-black four-seamer, and punched-out Miami backstop Jorge Alfaro on five consecutive four-seamers, the last one a 98 mph rocket on the paint that froze the former Phillies catcher in another flawless frame.
Marlins centerfielder Jon Berti lined a one-out, opposite-field double in the third for Miami’s first hit of the night and deGrom’s counterpart, Sandy Alcantara, followed with another double to give the Fish an early 1-0 lead.
Castro led off the fourth with a dribbler past Rosario at shortstop. DeGrom got Walker lunging at a gorgeous changeup then issued a one-out walk to Cooper, but struck out Alfaro on a foul-tip strike-three and got Harold Ramirez to groundout to leave both stranded.
DeGrom picked up his sixth strikeout (Alcantara) in a perfect fifth and worked around a Neil Walker two-out single in a scoreless sixth, picking up his seventh and eighth punchouts of the night.
The right-hander came back out for the seventh and allowed a two-out double to Berti before inducing an inning-and-outing-ending groundout from Curtis Granderson.
Jacob deGrom finished his night with 106 pitches (78 strikes) over seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball, racking up eight strikeouts with one base-on-balls, lowering his ERA to 3.26 on the season.
Seth Lugo took the ball in the top of the eighth and produced a perfect frame, striking out one. Lugo hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 19 in St. Louis, picking up 13 strikeouts and walking two over 11.1 innings since (eight appearances).
Edwin Diaz got the call in the ninth, striking out Walker and working around two two-out baserunners to pick up his tenth save of the season.
Offense
The Mets’ offense broke out for 11 runs in Friday night’s series-opening win and looked to continue that pace against right-hander Sandy Alcantara and the floundering Fish at Citi Field on Saturday.
Jeff McNeil singled off first-baseman Neil Walker’s glove to lead off the first — his fourth consecutive game with a leadoff hit — but was erased on a J.D. Davis 4-6-3 double play in a fruitless inning.
Pete Alonso took an Alcantara sinker off of his hands (he appeared to be uninjured) to start the second but was left stranded by Michael Conforto, Amed Rosario, and Brandon Nimmo.
Jacob deGrom looped a one-out double into left-center in the third — his third base hit of the season — but, in what was quickly becoming a trend on Saturday, was also left on base.
Robinson Cano began the bottom of the fourth with a single against the shift into left field, advanced to second on Alonso’s groundout, and scored on a trend-bucking Conforto single to right, knotting the game at one apiece.
Later in the fourth, with two outs and Nimmo (walk) and Conforto on first and second, respectively, Tomas Nido struck out swinging on an Alcantara slider to end the threat.
Pete Alonso put the Mets ahead, 2-1, with his 12th homer of the season (383 feet/106.5 mph to right-center) and Michael Conforto followed him with a 417-foot bomb (107.8 mph) into the Coca-Cola seats in right field to give the Metsies a 3-1 lead.
Nimmo drew his second walk of the night with two outs later in the sixth and Nido followed him with a base hit, then deGrom laced an RBI single into center field to put the Mets up 4-1 and chase Alcantara after 5.2 innings of work.
Finally, a little (in the most literal sense) run support for our conquering hero…
After going down in order in the seventh, Conforto walked to lead off the eighth and Rosario shot an opposite-field single into right field.
With two runners on and none out, Nimmo struck out (nine strikeouts over 33 plate appearances in May; 45 on the year) and Nido grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the rally.
On Deck
Noah Syndergaard (2-3, 5.14 ERA) takes the hill on Sunday afternoon (1:10 PM) in the series finale against left-hander Caleb Smith (3-0, 2.11 ERA) and the Marlins.
The game will be televised on SNY and broadcast on WCBS 880 AM.