Mets Overcome Marlins, Leave Last Place in NL East

On Sunday, the Mets triumphed over the Marlins at Citi Field, successfully escaping the bottom position in the NL East.

However, the real test lies ahead: moving further up the standings.

The Mets faced a struggling Marlins team, which had sunk to the last spot in the division. This marked the Mets’ best streak of the season, with four consecutive wins and an impressive record of 10 wins to just one loss.

Starting Monday, the team embarks on a six-game West Coast journey, kicking things off in Seattle. They’ll have three games against the Mariners, followed by three more against the Padres, which wraps up their last trip to the West this season.

But the challenge in Seattle won’t be as straightforward as it was against Miami. The Mets have only managed an 11-18 record away from Queens and are reeling after losing seven of their last nine road games.

On Sunday, they capitalized on Miami’s misfortune. Marlins pitcher Janson Junk, set to start, landed on injured reserve due to a right shin issue, forcing Miami into the bullpen.

Nolan McLean, despite having one of the tougher starts in his short career, allowed just one run over five innings. However, he also walked a career-high five batters, and his performance felt shaky overall on 94 pitches.

The Mets didn’t take long to assert themselves; they scored in the bottom of the first with a homer from Carson Benge, launching the ball 418 feet into center field. This marked the rookie’s first leadoff home run and came against the left-handed pitcher John King.

Interestingly, this was also Benge’s first home run off a lefty—he’s had a pretty strong showing against left-handers, boasting a .757 OPS prior to Sunday’s game.

In the second inning, Marcus Semien followed up by hitting a two-run homer off Miami’s pitcher Anthony Bender, who had just come in to replace King.

During that same inning, McLean struggled early as he walked two batters before AJ Ewing made a spectacular catch in center, which helped the Mets briefly recover.

Nonetheless, a double from Owen Casey would soon put the Marlins on the board at 3-1.

McLean continued to have issues; he walked Xavier Edwards to load the bases but managed to rally by grounding out Liam Hicks to end the threat.

Yet, the Mets extended their lead later in the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Luis Torrence managed a single that scored both Ewing and Brett Batty, pushing the score to 5-1.

The game was effectively sealed in the sixth when Juan Soto hit a grand slam following a walk and Torrence being hit by a pitch—Soto’s shot was the only hit of that inning.

David Peterson came out of the bullpen again, delivering four scoreless innings in relief, further solidifying the victory.