Mets beat Marlins in first game of doubleheader to snap five-game losing streak
The drought, at long last, is over.
The Mets snapped their five-game losing streak and won their first game in nine days by beating the Marlins, 5-2, in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field. Marcus Stroman threw five solid innings, his only blemish a two-run home run to Lewin Diaz in the fourth inning, to complete his major-league leading 33rd start of the year.
“I’m open to anything,” Stroman, who becomes a free agent this offseason, said of staying with the Mets. “At this point in my career, I can’t wait to be on a team where I’m going to be there for longer than a year.”
Stroman (10-13, 3.02 ERA) has started nine of the Mets’ 28 seven-inning games this season. The Mets (74-82) played their 14th and final scheduled doubleheader on Tuesday. In addition to his consistent outings on the mound – Stroman has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 24 starts this year – he brought some spice to the basepaths.
He reached base on a throwing error by Marlins third baseman Eddy Alvarez in the second inning. Then, with two outs and Brandon Nimmo just digging into the box, Stoman pulled off his first-career stolen base. Marlins catcher Nick Fortes was completely caught off guard, as his throw to second base ended up in shallow center field. Stroman moved to third on Fortes’ error, but Nimmo flew out to right field to end the threat.
“We were actually talking about it before the game with [Jacob] deGrom, Taijuan [Walker, and Luis [Rojas]. I told them if I got on I was going to steal,” Stroman said. “The situation happened to present itself, so I was like I gotta do it. I can’t be all talk. So I just got a good jump and got there in good time.”
Stroman became the 15th pitcher in franchise history to swipe a bag. Jacob deGrom was the last Mets pitcher to do it successfully, on Aug. 2, 2017 against the Dodgers at Citi Field. Following Stroman’s dash on the basepaths, Mets pitchers have stolen 21 bases in the team’s history.
Mets hitters, livelier on their home turf after going 0-5 on their road trip to Boston and Milwaukee, scored in first inning to give Stroman some support. Brandon Nimmo ripped a leadoff triple and Francisco Lindor promptly drove him in with an RBI single. Lindor later homered, a two-run shot to left field, for his 19th home run of the season. The shortstop has crushed eight home runs in September.
Tuesday’s Game 1 victory was Luis Rojas’ 100th win as manager. He has a 100-116 record across two seasons as the team’s skipper.
Any team would love to have Marcus Stroman,” Rojas said. “He is a great teammate. He wants the ball. You have a competitor.”
