Junk and the Marlins Trash the Mets

Marlins 5 Mets 2 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 47-64

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP - Janson Junk (5-6)

LP - Kodai Senga (0-8)

SV - Peter Fairbanks (16)

Seat on the Korner: Janson Junk

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

Janson Junk's name served him well in his 5-inning outing against the Mets. Junk threw 79 pitches (25 of them in the fifth inning), allowing only one unearned run.

He had all his pitches going, striking out four batters, and if it wasn't for the error by Kyle Stowers to extend that inning, he probably would have thrown six innings in this outing.

Need to Know

• Start me up: Coming into the game, Mets starters had recorded a quality start in six of their last seven appearances, including each of their last four...The rotation's eight quality starts since the All-Star Break are tied with Kansas City and Chicago-NL for the most in the majors.

• Freddy Peralta was scratched from starting just before the game. Rumor has it that he's about to get traded.

• Going into the game, Mets relievers had not allowed a run over their last 20.1 innings...The pen's 1.93 ERA (9 ER/42.0 IP). in the second half of the season is the lowest mark in the NL and the second-lowest in the majors. The streak ended when XZavion Curry was charged with a run in the Marlins' four-run fifth inning.

• McLean on fire: On Thursday, Nolan McLean allowed two runs over 6.1 innings in his 22nd start of the season... He has pitched at least 6.0 innings in eight straight starts.

• Put Nolan in the record books: On Thursday, McLean recorded his 200th career strikeout with a punchout of Heriberto Hernández to end the first...Joins Dwight Gooden, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Kodai Senga as the only pitchers in franchise history to reach the 200-career strikeout mark in 30 games or fewer.

• The Mets will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the historic 1986 championship team on Saturday, starting with a 2:30 a news conference featuring Jesse Orosco, Roger McDowell, Mookie Wilson and Sid Fernandez. On-field ceremonies will occur just before the game.

Turning Point

The top of the 5th inning started so promisingly. Surprise starter Kodai Senga was cruising, having only thrown 33 pitches to that point, and the Marlins only had one hit to show for themselves.

But after two walks to lead off the inning, Senga started to show some fatigue, having not pitched in 13 days.

Jakob Marsee doubled to right fielder Carson Benge. Griffin Conine scored, and Heriberto Hernández moved down to third base. And that was Senga's night.

Xzavion Curry then came in and gave up two singles in a row to make the score 3-0.

The Marlins would add another run to make the score 4-0 by the end of the inning. The Mets fought hard but could never recover.

Three Keys

Senga finds his form...Until

After an 0-7 start and an ERA closer to the moon than to the Earth's surface, Kodai Senga stepped into the game as a late addition (Freddy Peralta scratched). Senga had not pitched in 13 days before today's start.

Senga retired the first six batters he faced and only allowed one hit in his first three innings.

The Ghost Fork and the rest of his arsenal were on display early on. But the fourth inning was proof that the first three were no fluke. Senga pitched a 4-pitch, three-up-three-down inning. He only threw 33 pitches through the first four innings.

Alas, it wasn't a fairy tale ending for Senga in his best outing of the season. He was charged with all three runs scored in the top of the fifth, on two hits and four strikeouts.

Stowers Light-tower Power

Kyle Stowers' error led to an unearned run in the bottom of the 5th inning. It looked like the Mets would capitalize a little more, but they ended up leaving the bases loaded. That bailed Stowers out of being the scapegoat for a Mets would-be comeback.

In the top of the 6th, however, Stowers decided to get a run back for his team with a nuclear bomb off of Xzavion Curry. Stowers hit the ball 417 feet, and there are reports that the ball created its own flight path out of LaGuardia.

It was Stowers' second home run in the first two games of this series against the Mets.

Off-season Signings Struggle

Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco combined for an 0-for-12, with six strikeouts.

Bichette came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 5th inning, which could have been the turning point in the game, had he delivered. Instead, he popped out softly to the second baseman to end the mini-rally for the Mets.

Polanco is batting .136 this year with a .395 OPS. He continues to struggle in all scenarios. Whether there are runners on base or he's batting with zero pressure, Polanco couldn't hit a basketball pitched underhanded to him by a weekend league softball pitcher. Polanco is zero for his last 23 at-bats. And Luis Robert Jr., Thursday's hero, reverted back to the mean with an 0-for-4 that included three strikeouts.