The New York Mets pulled out a 7-5 win against the Miami Marlins, but seriously, it was a nail-biter that should have been a cruise. Sean Manaea had a full-on pitching implosion in the sixth inning, turning what looked like a dominant shutout into a scramble, even with the offense tearing it up early. The bullpen ultimately held on, mostly, to secure the W.
The Offense Came Out SWINGING, What a Start!
Dude, the Mets’ bats were FIRED UP from the jump against Sandy Alcantara. Francisco Lindor, seriously, he led off the first inning and hammered a home run over center field on the FIRST PITCH he saw. That’s how you set the tone, right? Juan Soto and Bo Bichette walked right after that, and Soto trotted home when Jared Young tapped a single into center. Just like that, 2-0 Mets before A.J. Ewing even grounded out for the third out. Manaea, bless his heart, pitched a 1-2-3, four-pitch first inning, thanks in part to Ewing and Carson Benge out there. But the offense wasn’t done! Top of the second, Francisco Alvarez lined a single, then Lindor got plunked on the elbow. That set up Juan Soto for a MONSTER three-run dinger straight into center field. The lead just blew up. Benge walked and actually got safe at second on a challenged steal call, which was awesome, even if he got stranded. Manaea kept rolling, retiring the Marlins in order in the second, and the score was 5-0. Then, in the third, with two outs, Brett Baty walloped his own home run into center field. Lindor even made a sick diving play in the bottom of the third to rob Jakob Marsee. Manaea was still untouchable, retiring batters in order again. Soto even doubled in the fourth! By the time Jared Young walked and Ewing doubled in the fifth, setting up Baty’s sac fly to score Young, it was 7-0. Manaea was stifling the Marlins, truly shutting them down through five innings.
What The Heck Happened In The Sixth?!
Everything was clicking, right? Seven-zip, Manaea dealing, offense crushing. Then, the bottom of the sixth happened. After the Mets went down in order in the top half, Manaea just lost it. Jakob Marsee led off with a single, and then Baty bobbled the ball on the pickup, letting Marsee advance to second on an error. That opened the floodgates. Jared Serna smacked an RBI double, scoring Marsee. Brian Navarreto lined another RBI double past Baty, bringing Serna home. Heriberto Hernández singled, sending Navarreto to third. And then Otto Lopez hit an RBI single, scoring Navarreto and officially sending Manaea to the showers. Just like that, it was 7-3. Jonathan Pintaro came in to try and stop the bleeding. It was a total gut punch after such a dominant start. The Marlins kept pushing, getting three runs and almost making it a full-blown comeback. Thankfully, the bullpen buckled down and held onto the lead for the rest of the game, letting the Mets close it out 7-5. It should have been way easier, though.
Whew! A win is a win, but man, you gotta close out games better than that. You can’t let a seven-run lead turn into a nail-biter. Hopefully, they iron out those sixth-inning jitters before the next one.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
Leave a Reply