The Mets came into Wednesday’s game looking to sweep a series for the first time since the middle of August. Robert Stock was taking the mound for the Mets, coming off a scoreless one-out appearance against the Giants. Janson Junk was starting in the midst a nice stretch of starts for the Marlins, having not given up more than two runs since July.
After a quiet first inning for both sides, the second inning started an offensive explosion for the Mets. Four consecutive singles from Jared Young, Marcus
Semien, A.J. Ewing and Brett Baty drove in the first two runs of the game for the Mets. Baty was pulled from the game with a knee injury after his single, being replaced by Christopher Morel. Luis Torrens then drove in both remaining baserunners with a double to put the Mets ahead by four runs. Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch to put another baserunner on, and Bo Bichette hit a one-out single to drive Torrens in as the Mets fifth run of the inning. Carson Benge hit into a groundout that allowed Lindor to score as the Mets sixth and final run of the inning, giving the Mets a nice wide lead early in the game.
The Mets made some more noise in the third inning. A.J. Ewing reached base on a one-out single, then stole second base for his 23rd steal of the year. It ended up not mattering much what base he was on, because Christopher Morel hit a two-run home run to drive him in as Morel’s first homer with the Mets. They didn’t score any more in the inning, but the Mets ended the inning with a huge eight run lead over the Marlins, a truly abysmal appearance for Junk.
Stock started to lose it in the bottom of the fourth inning. After three shutout innings, he started the inning with two baserunners from a hit-by-pitch and a single. After getting an out, he walked Owen Caissie to load the bases. Graham Pauley singled to drive in the Marlins first run of the game, and Joe Mack hit another single to plate two more runs and cut the Mets lead to five runs. Stock was able to get out of it after that but that was the end of his evening. He ended his night allowing three runs in four innings, with five hits and two walks while striking out four.
It completely fell apart for the Mets in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Devenski was brought in to pitch, and he immediately gave up a leadoff home run to Owen Caissie to cut the Mets lead to four runs. The home run was followed by two consecutive singles to put runners on before Devenski finally got the first out of the inning. Heriberto Hernández hit a single to load the bases, and Griffin Conine single to drive in another run for the Marlins fifth run, the Mets’ lead rapidly disappearing. That was the end of Devenski’s stint in the game, being replaced by Daniel Duarte. Duarte started by walking in a run and then allowing a two-run single to Jakob Marsee to tie the game. Duarte got two more outs but the damage was done, the eight runs the Mets had scored was simply not enough for the Mets pitching staff.
The Mets offense came to the rescue of the Mets pitching staff. Benge got hit by a pitch and Young and Semien both walked to load the bases at the start of the seventh and drive Josh Ekness from the game after facing the minimum three batters. Former Met Tyler Zuber came in and Ewing hit a sacrifice fly to put the Mets back ahead by a run. Morel and Torrens hit back to back singles to drive in two more runs and put the Mets into double digits. Lindor then put the exclamation point on the inning in the form of a three run home run to cap off the Mets second six run inning of the game, putting them back ahead by six runs with just nine outs to go.
Duarte came back out for the seventh inning, and gave up a two-out solo home run to Joe Mack to whittle away a piece of the newly minted Mets lead. Victor Vodnik came out for the Marlins in the eight, and had two runners on with two outs for Luis Torrens, who drove in his fourth run of the game for the Mets fifteenth run of the incredibly long game.
Jonathan Pintaro took the mound for the Mets in the bottom of the eighth, and he had a rollercoaster of an inning. He hit Otto Lopez with a pitch, but that baserunner was bookended by two pop outs in what looked to be a pretty easy appearance for Pintaro. But back-to-back singles by Javier Sanoja and Caissie drove in the Marlins tenth run of the game. Pauley then singled to drive in another run and cut the Mets lead to four runs with two runners still on. But Pintaro was able to escape the jam, stranding two runners with the Mets still clinging to a four run lead.
Nate Lavender came out in the bottom of the ninth to try and close the door on the resilient Marlins. Kyle Stowers led off the inning with a double but a Heriberto Hernández fly out provided the first out. The only out for Lavender, it turned out. Conine hit a double to drive in Stowers, and Lopez tripled to drive in Conine. Marsee broke his bat and got a single through to drive in Lopez and put the Marlins within a single run, driving Lavender from the game in favor of Tobias Myers. Myers gave up a single to Sanoja to put two runners on, but a strikeout and a pop out ended the game with the Mets clinging to their single run lead.
The Mets have a day off before heading back to New York to face the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Nolan McLean will be making the start Friday night on what will be a somber evening, it being the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
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Win Probability Added
What’s WPA?
Big Mets winner: Luis Torrens, +16% WPA
Big Mets loser: Chris Devenski, -24% WPA
Mets pitchers: -36% WPA
Mets hitters: +86% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Graham Pauley’s ninth inning pop out, +17.3% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Jakob Marsee’s two-run single in the sixth inning, -20.7% WPA
