Marlins 3, Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets Record: 64-60
Mets Streak: L1
Mets Last 10: 4-6
WP: Andrew Nardi (3-1)
LP: Reed Garrett (7-5)
SV: Calvin Faucher (3)
Seat On The Korner: Calvin Faucher
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Today's Seat On The Korner goes to Calvin Faucher, who pitched in, and then out, of trouble to close the door on the Mets in the ninth. Faucher yielded an infield hit to Jose Iglesias and a seeing-eye single to Tyrone Taylor before striking out Jeff McNeil, almost giving up a walkoff home run to Francisco Lindor but then striking out Mark Vientos to end the game. A whirlwind inning, but in the end, he got the job done.
Need To Know:
The loss put the Mets' post-All Star Game record at 15-14 and ended their season series against the Marlins with a 7-6 record.
Odd statistic: This was the Marlins' seventh game with a pre-1 p.m. first pitch. They are 4-3 in those games.
Before the game, the Mets activated Starling Marte from the IL (as expected) and DFA's Ben Gamel (also expected). Marte went 1-3 before being pulled for defensive purposes in the seventh.
As one outfielder is coming could another be going? Brandon Nimmo, who homered in the fifth, left the game after swinging hard and suffering what was described as "right shoulder discomfort" in the bottom of the seventh. After the game, Nimmo minimized the seriousness of the twinge.
Candelita in the wind: Jose Iglesias had two infield singles.
The Mets continue the homestand with three games against the Orioles, sending their parade of lefties to the mound. David Peterson starts things off Monday night, followed by Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea, in that order.
Turning Point:
Reed Garrett, who got the Mets out of Huascar Brazoban's mess in the seventh, created one of his own in the eighth, walking three batters (one was picked off second). Phil Maton came in to bail out Garrett, but surrendered a single to Derek Hill that produced what proved to be the game-winning run. The Mets nearly threw out Jonah Bride, but Francisco Alvarez couldn't hold on to Jeff McNeil's strong throw.
Three Keys:
Managerial Moves Backfire
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza did not have good day, with some key managerial moves not producing the intended result. He pulled Paul Blackburn after 92 pitches in favor of Huascar Brazoban, who was ineffective in his two-thirds of an inning against his former team, including a wild pitch that allowed the Marlins to tie the game. In the ninth, with the tying and winning runs on base, Mendoza inexplicably had Jeff McNeil try to bunt the runners over. McNeil failed in two attempts and then struck out. Arguably, McNeil, who has the best bat control of any of the Mets and who has been their hottest hitter since the All Star break, might have been better off swinging away to schieve the same result.
Pitchers Duel
Paul Blackburn shook off his poor outing against his former teammates, the Athletics, and returned the the form he had shown since being acquired by the Mets. Blackburn hurled six strong innings, giving up only one run. He was matched by Marlins' rookie sensation Valente Bellozo, who pitched into the sixth before giving up a home run to Brsndon Nimmo that gave the Mets a lead and a single to Starling Marte. Going into the game, Bellozzo had a 2.28 ERA, had held opponents scoreless on three of his five starts and had batting averages against him of .178 for lefties and .211 for righties.
Take Your Picks
Pickoffs have become rare, and the Mets achieved the rarity of rarities, notching not one, not two, but three pickoffs. Xavier Edwards, an accomplished base stealer, was picked off twice: once from first, and the other time from second, as he went back to the base standing up and was tagged in the helmet by Francisco Lindor. The other two pickoffs were conventional ones, on throws to first by Paul Blackburn and Reed Garrett.
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