The Mets, and the offense in particular, did not show up with the same firepower on to start the second half relative to how they finished the first half. However, they still found a way to split the series in Miami against the Marlins to start the post-All-Star Break push.
There was up an down starting pitching for the Mets, and up and down hitting as well. This series had games where a team’s runs were all via the home run, and there was a 1-0 pitching duel.
Reinforcements continue to progress for the Mets. Kodai Senga is getting closer to a return to the major league level, which will be a welcome sight for the team. His Ghost Fork has been sorely missed this season. He is due to make his return on Friday at home against the Braves.
The middle infielders of the Mets, Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil, showed good signs of exiting their slump (McNeil) and continuing the momentum seen over the past few weeks (Lindor). This will be important to the team down the home stretch.
As of now, the Mets seem to be in the buyers side of the trade market. Nothing in this series changed that. The Mets remain in sole possession of the third Wild Card spot in the National League.
Here are the by-game rundowns of the Marlins series:
Game 1: Marlins 6, Mets 4
Jake Burger had a very strong start to the second half of the season for the Marlins, while McNeil continues to dig himself out of a prolonged slump for the Mets.
McNeil was by far the best offensive player for the Mets. He was the only Met to produce multiple hits, going three for four with two home runs (his sixth and seventh of the season). McNeil had three of the team’s eight hits, and three of the team’s four RBIs. J.D. Martinez drove in the only other Mets run, on a sacrifice fly. The Mets only struck out four times, with Brandon Nimmo having two of those four strikeouts.
On the mound, Sean Manaea got the start for the Mets. Manaea went five innings, surrendering five runs on eight hits and one walk with one strikeout. He also gave up the home run to Burger. His record on the season is now 6-4 after the loss, with an ERA of 3.73. Adam Ottavino and Phil Maton followed with a scoreless inning each. Dedniel Nunez ran into some trouble in the eighth, going 0.2 innings and giving up a run on a hit and two walks while striking out two. Danny Young came on to get the final out.
The Marlins scored the game’s first four runs by the end of the third inning. Multiple hits were contributed by Jazz Chisholm, Burger, and Nick Fortes. They delivered two hits each. Burger had two RBI’s. This was complemented by one RBI each from Josh Bell, Xavier Edwards, Emmanuel Rivera, and Fortes.
Edward Cabrera started for the Marlins, going 4.2 innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and five walks with one strikeout. Anthony Bender came on in relief, finishing off the fifth to earn the win (his fourth of the season). Andrew Nardi, A.J. Puk, Calvin Faucher, and Tanner Scott followed in order to finish off the victory. For Scott, it was his 15th save of the season, and in 1.1 scoreless innings he lowered his ERA on the season to 1.30.
Game 2: Mets 1, Marlins 0
In a pitcher’s duel, Luis Severino came out on top for the Mets, and further cemented his place as the staff’s ace for the moment. Francisco Alvarez drove in the game’s only run, on a fielder’s choice groundout.
The Mets offense struggled, producing only one run on six hits. Jose Iglesias had two of the six hits, raising his season average to .384. The game’s only hit that was not a single was a double by Pete Alonso. After a strong game by McNeil in the prior contest, he went hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts.
Severino started for the Mets and went six strong innings. He threw 91 pitches over those six shutout innings, allowing only two hits and three walks to go along with seven strikeouts. Jose Butto pitched a scoreless seventh, Nunez a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz threw a scoreless ninth for his 11th save of the year.
For the Marlins, three batters produced a total of four hits and that was about it. Jesus Sanchez had two singles, with Burger and Otto López contributing one each. Nick Gordon went hitless in four at-bats with three strikeouts.
Getting the start for the Marlins was Roddery Munoz. He went five innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Following Munoz was a scoreless inning each from Bryan Hoeing, Andrew Nardi, Huascar Brazoban, and JT Chargois.
Game 3: Marlins 4, Mets 2
Jake Burger continued his solid series, hitting for the third straight game with a solo home run. Chisholm also went deep with a three-run homer.
The two Mets runs were driven in by Luis Torrens (sacrifice fly) and J.D. Martinez (RBI single). Nimmo went hitless in three at-bats, all strikeouts, along with two walks. Mark Vientos and Iglesias had two hits each.
On the mound, Christian Scott got the start for the Mets, going only four innings. He was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks along with four strikeouts. The loss moved his record on the season to 0-3 with an ERA of 4.56. Adrian Houser followed with 2.2 innings where he gave up one run, and Jake Diekman provided a scoreless 1.1 innings.
Chisholm had two hits, including the three-run homer. It was his 13th of the season, and Burger hit his 12th. In addition to the Chisholm and Burger, Vidal Brujan had three hits, Edwards had two, and Bryan de la Cruz had one.
The Marlins relied heavily again on their bullpen in this game. Starter Trevor Rogers went 4.2 innings. While only charged with two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts, he did throw 99 pitches. The final 4.1 shutout innings were thrown by Declan Cronin (1.1 innings to pick up his second win of the year), Puk, Faucher, and Scott. Scott picked up his 16th save of the season and second of the series.
Game 4: Mets 6, Marlins 4
Lindor continued his redemption tour with two home runs. McNeil added a two-run blast in support of David Peterson, who moved to 5-0 on the year.
Lindor’s two homers brought his total on the season to 19. McNeil started the scoring in the second to start the scoring, and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to finish with three RBIs. Lindor’s two solo shots brought his average on the season up to .256 with an OPS of .798. This is a far cry from where he started the season. Iglesias drove in the only other Mets run, on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.
Peterson stayed undefeated on the year, and his ERA stands at 3.14. He threw 88 pitches over five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Butto came in next and surrendered a run over two innings. Maton was next and threw a scoreless eighth. Diaz survived the ninth inning to earn his 12th save of the season.
The Marlins offense was paced by de la Cruz, who had three hits including a solo home run. Bell added a solo home run for one of his two RBIs. Brujan drove in the only other Marlins run. Chisholm struck out twice in going hitless in three at-bats from the leadoff spot.
Getting the start for Miami was Yonny Chirinos. In 89 pitches over five innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits and four walks with four strikeouts. Brazoban chipped in two scoreless innings, followed by Anthony Bender with a scoreless eighth. Chargois gave up Lindor’s second home run of the game in the ninth.
Looking Ahead
With the Mets still controlling a Wild Card spot, they travel back to New York but will be the visitors against the Yankees in the Bronx. The second installment of the Subway Series follows a two-game sweep at Citi Field. The first game is expected to pit Jose Quintana for the Mets, against Luis Gil for the Yankees. In the second game, Gerritt Cole will look to avenge a rough start against the Mets in Queens as he faces off against Manaea for the Mets. The Yankees come in with a record of 60-42, which is 1.5 games behind the Orioles in the AL East. They currently hold the top Wild Card spot in the AL.
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