On Sunday afternoon the Mets took on the Marlins at Citi Field, the last game before the trade deadline, one that would most likely see massive changes to the Mets. There were several Mets who would be on other teams by Monday evening, as the Mets looked to try and recoup some sort of future from a failed season. The Mets had called Robert Stock up to make the start, after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in March, his first appearance in the majors since 2021. They’d be facing Marlins ace
Sandy Alcantara, who had a 2.96 ERA against the Mets in 118.2 innings.
It was a relatively quiet game for both sides, with nothing of real note happening during the first four innings. Both teams got a few baserunners, but neither were able to cash in. Robert Stock went five innings for the first time in his major league career. The only earned run he allowed in the game was on a fifth inning solo home run by Marlins catcher Joe Mack, and he struck out four while only giving up three hits.
The most exciting moment for the Mets during the first half of the game was when news broke during the first inning that Freddy Peralta was being traded to the Rays, netting three prospects in return. Carson Benge made a couple of spectacular plays in the outfield as well, robbing the Marlins of a few hits with his defense.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Mets started showing some signs of life. Luis Robert Jr. hit a single to lead off the inning, and Jared Young followed that with a double to put two runners in scoring position with no outs and driving Alcantara from the game in favor of reliever Michael Petersen. Marcus Semien drew a walk that loaded the bases, but back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout kept any runs from scoring.
The three relievers brought in after Stock all kept the Marlins scoreless (and hitless) through the eighth inning. All three of them, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver, and Huascar Brazobán, have figured heavily into the multitude of Mets trade rumors and could have thrown their final pitches as New York Mets. Devin Williams, brought in for the ninth, gave up a single to Otto Lopez that hit off his leg and made it unplayable for Semien. Then Lopez stole second, and was driven in on an RBI single by Xavier Edwards. After Griffin Conine popped out for the second out, Francisco Alvarez threw out Edwards on an attempt to steal second, ending the Marlins ninth inning scoring at the one run.
Despite the Mets having two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, neither came in to score and the Mets lost both the game and the series. The deadline is tomorrow, and even though some big names have already departed this team, this team will probably look a lot different the next time they take the field in Cleveland on Tuesday, with Sean Manaea currently expected to get the start in the opener against the Guardians.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: Jared Young, +26% WPA
Big Mets loser: A.J. Ewing, -35% WPA
Mets pitchers: +19% WPA
Mets hitters: -69% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Jared Young’s seventh inning double, +22.7% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Francisco Alvarez’s base loaded strikeout in the seventh, -15.6% WPA
