Series Thread: New York Mets @ Miami Marlins (9/26-28)

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• Morning Briefing: Mets set to visit grieving Marlins




MIAMI -- The New York Mets will take part in a solemn event Monday.

The Mets will be the visiting team in Miami as the Marlins return to playing baseball after the death of 24-year-old ace Jose Fernandez in a weekend boating accident.

Cognizant that the Mets must balance the proper respect with the need to win ballgames during the final week, Terry Collins said he will meet with his players Monday afternoon in the visitors’ clubhouse at Marlins Park.

Fernandez’s next scheduled start had been for the series opener against the Mets.

“I know they’ll be very, very respectful,” Collins said. “There’s still a lot at stake. I know Jose Fernandez well enough to know the one thing he wants is the game played -- and the game played right, because that’s how he went about it. So in honor of him, we’re going to go out and play the game right.”

The Mets (83-73) lead the San Francisco Giants by one game and the St. Louis Cardinals by 1½ games in the National League wild-card standings. Both of the Mets’ adversaries lost on Sunday.

The Mets have a pair of three-game series remaining -- at Miami, then at Philadelphia to close the regular season.

Collins believes the Mets have the correct pitcher on the mound in the opener at Marlins Park in 43-year-old Bartolo Colon, since the veteran should be best prepared to be unaffected by the emotional surroundings. Colon and Noah Syndergaard will combine to start four of the final six games if the Mets’ fate is not resolved until the final day of the regular season.

If the Mets can clinch early, they can hold back Syndergaard for the Oct. 5 wild-card game.

On Sunday at Citi Field, Yoenis Cespedes taped a Mets jersey with “FERNANDEZ” and No. 16 on the back to the wall of the Mets’ dugout. Cespedes indicated the Mets will bring the jersey to Miami and hang it in the visitors’ dugout as a sign of solidarity with the Marlins.

"It's going be another tough day," Cespedes said through an interpreter. "I can tell you that we're going to take the jersey with us and we'll be putting it up again. We want to let him know that we're still thinking of him -- knowing that's his town and we're on his field."

 

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Noah Syndergaard said he is healthy and ready to pitch Tuesday in Miami after dealing with strep throat and getting scratched Saturday against the Phillies.

Here are a couple of interesting homer stats courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information: Curtis Granderson now has 30 homers and 56 RBIs this season. The MLB "record" for fewest RBIs by a player with at least 30 homers is 64 by Félix Mantilla of the 1964 Red Sox and Rob Deer of the 1992 Tigers. Meanwhile, the Mets have multiple 30-homer hitters (Yoenis Céspedes and Granderson) for the first time since 2008 (Carlos Delgado and David Wright). Add in Jay Bruce's total with the Reds and he has 30 homers, too.

 

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• Marlins to all wear No. 16 to honor Fernandez

MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins will wear No. 16 jerseys in Monday's game against the New York Mets in honor of pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died early Sunday morning in a boating accident.

The game will be played at 7:10 p.m. ET at Marlins Park.

 

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Here's the Mets lineup for Monday's 7:10 p.m. ET game at Marlins Park:

Reyes - 3B
Cabrera - SS
Cespedes - LF
Granderson - CF
TJ Rivera - 2B
Bruce - RF
d'Arnaud - C
Campbell - 1B
Colon - RHP

 

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Mets lose in an emotional buzzsaw....but the Cardinals also lost to Cincy.

• Gordon hits emotional HR and mourning Marlins beat Mets 7-3


MIAMI -- Dee Gordon and the Miami Marlins wore their emotions on the sleeves of their No. 16 jerseys.

Jose Fernandez would have loved it.

Gordon homered leading off the first inning for the Marlins, who totaled 14 hits and mixed cheers with the tears of the past two days by beating theNew York Mets 7-3 on Monday night in their first game since Fernandez died in a boating accident.

Marlins' Dee Gordon: "I don't know how any of us got out there and played today." He proceeded to call the Mets "first class."

 

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NL Wild Card Watch.....9/27...(only 5 games to go)

WC #1
Mets +0.5

WC #2
Giants
Cardinals -1.0
Marlins - 4.0
Pirates - 5.0

 

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'First-class' Mets balance respect with wild-card race on emotional night


MIAMI -- Tears started flowing for New York Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud as the crowd cheered each Miami Marlins player taking the field for pregame warmups. D'Arnaud had tears return when the Marlins Park video board played a tribute to the late Jose Fernandez. And d'Arnaud teared up again when the Marlins all took the field wearing No. 16.

On an emotional night at Marlins Park, d'Arnaud began full-out crying when Dee Gordon opened the bottom of the first inning by first settling into the batter's box on the right side to mimic Fernandez's stance, then switched to the left side and slugged a homer against Bartolo Colon. The long ball set the tone for the Marlins' emotional 7-3 win over the Mets on Monday night at Marlins Park in the first game since Fernandez's death in a boating accident.

"I saw him crying right when he rounded first base," d'Arnaud said about Gordon. "I was crying, too. I had my head down. But when he was coming to home plate, and tears were coming down his face, they were coming down mine, too. I'm pretty sure the whole world felt that emotion in that moment -- whether you were here or watching it on TV or anywhere. For that to happen, for him to honor him with his batting stance the first pitch of the game too, and to hit a homer, it's unbelievable."


The Mets were praised for their conduct by the Marlins on Monday night. Gordon labeled the Mets "first class" for their pregame gesture of being sure to hug the Marlins players on the field before the first pitch.

 

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• Morning Briefing: Mets now try to refocus on wild-card race



MIAMI -- The New York Mets participated in an emotional game at Marlins Park on Monday night and acted “first class,” according to Dee Gordon, in helping remember the late Jose Fernandez.

Now, the Mets will try to refocus their attention on earning a National League wild-card berth.

With five games remaining in the regular season, the Mets lead the San Francisco Giants by a half-game and the St. Louis Cardinals by 1 1/2 games in the wild-card standings.

On Tuesday, Noah Syndergaard (13-9, 2.63 ERA) opposes right-hander Tom Koehler (9-12, 4.02) at 7:10 p.m. ET.

Syndergaard is returning to the rotation after missing Saturday's start due to strep throat. He also is lined up to pitch the final day of the regular season in Philadelphia if that game is meaningful for the Mets. Otherwise, Syndergaard will be held back for next Wednesday's wild-card game.

 

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Here is the Mets lineup for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. ET game at Marlins Park:

J. Reyes 3B
A. Cabrera SS
Y. Cespedes LF
C. Granderson CF
J. Bruce RF
T.J. Rivera 2B
L. Duda 1B
R. Rivera C
N. Syndergaard RHP

 

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Mets to present signed Jose Fernandez jersey to Marlins

MIAMI -- The jersey on display in the New York Mets' dugout the past two games to show solidarity with the Marlins will be presented to Miami team officials.

Mets players were asked to sign the Mets jersey, which included Jose Fernandez's last name and the No. 16, before Tuesday’s game.

 

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Mets win....Cards win....Giants win.....

The Duda is back and he abides!

• Mets help playoff chances by beating mourning Marlins 12-1

• Mets stay atop wild-card race with big win against Marlins

MIAMI -- Could this have been Noah Syndergaard's final regular-season start? If that’s the case, it would be good news for the New York Mets.

Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes produced homers in the same game for the first time since Bruce's Aug. 1 acquisition, and Syndergaard logged six innings, striking out 8 in his first start in eight days as the Mets beat the Miami Marlins 12-1 on Tuesday.

The Mets (84-74) opened a one-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and 1.5-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card standings, pending the outcome of San Francisco's game later in the evening.

"We've got four to go," manager Terry Collins said. "We've got to play them out."

 

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• Matz to undergo season-ending elbow surgery

MIAMI -- New York Mets left-hander Steven Matz has elected to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow and will not return this season, the team announced Tuesday.

Matz had been pitching with the elbow issue for much of the season and had intended to have the procedure performed this winter. However, he had not appeared in a game since Aug. 14 because of a left shoulder impingement that was irritating the rotator cuff.

With that discomfort persisting, Matz will be shut down and have the elbow procedure now. No surgery is planned for the shoulder issue.

The Mets have estimated a three-month recovery time for the elbow procedure, so Matz should be ready for spring training. The surgery will be next week at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Matz, 25, went 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 22 starts during what was considered his rookie season, even though he also contributed with the Mets in 2015.

He becomes the latest starting pitcher to be shut down by the Mets for the remainder of 2016.

Matt Harvey underwent surgery in July to remove a rib and alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. Jacob deGrom underwent surgery Wednesday to move the ulnar nerve in his pitching elbow. Zack Wheeler's intended return from Tommy John surgery has been tabled until next season because of multiple setbacks from the original March 2015 procedure.

Even Jonathon Niese, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates as a rotation hedge, subsequently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

As a result, the Mets will rely on a pair of rookies in the postseason rotation if they are able to qualify. In addition to Noah Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon, right-handers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are expected to round out the Mets' starting pitching corps in October.

The Mets have acknowledged that Syndergaard also has a bone spur in his pitching elbow. However, team officials have indicated Syndergaard will not need to have the issue addressed by surgery this offseason.

 

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NL Wild Card Watch.....9/28...(only 4 games to go)

WC #1
Mets +0.5

WC #2
Giants
Cardinals -1.0
Marlins - 5.0
Pirates - 6.0

 

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• Morning Briefing: Mets remain atop wild-card hunt with four games left


MIAMI -- The New York Mets' magic number is down to four.

With a win against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, the Mets (84-74) remained atop the National League wild-card race with four games remaining on their schedule. They continue to own a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and a 1½-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. Two of those teams will qualify for the Oct. 5 wild-card game.

On Wednesday, Seth Lugo (4-2, 2.61 ERA) opposes Marlins right-hander Jose Urena (4-8, 5.95) in the 7:10 p.m. ET rubber game.

It will be another day for reflection in Miami. A funeral motorcade for the late Jose Fernandez will depart Marlins Park at 2:16 p.m. ET. There will be a public viewing at St. Brendan's Catholic Church (8725 SW 32nd St., Miami) from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

 

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Here's the Mets lineup for Wednesday's 7:10 p.m. ET rubber game at Marlins Park:

Jose Reyes - 3B
Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
Yoenis Cespedes - LF
Curtis Granderson - CF
Jay Bruce - RF
T.J. Rivera - 2B
Lucas Duda - 1B
Rene Rivera - C
Seth Lugo - RHP

 

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• Mets' magic number down to two after rubber-game win, Cards' loss

• Mets help playoff chances by beating grieving Marlins 5-2



MIAMI -- The New York Mets need to pick up some champagne and goggles on their day off in Philadelphia. Their magic number to clinch a postseason berth is down to two and could be secured as soon as Friday.

James Loney and Jay Bruce produced two-run homers and the Mets beat theMiami Marlins, 5-2, in Wednesday’s rubber game at Marlins Park.

The victory allowed the Mets (85-74) to open a one-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and a 2½-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals pending the outcome of San Francisco’s game against the Colorado Rockies late Wednesday.

The Mets now take Thursday off before concluding the regular season with a three-game weekend series at the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

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Jeurys Familia notched his 50th save of the season. That sets the single-season record for a Dominican-born pitcher. Jose Valverde is 2011 and Francisco Cordero in 2004 had 49 saves apiece.

Lucas Duda was just sore because of his heavy recent workload after missing four months, Terry Collins said. It was nothing related to his back. Duda had been in Wednesday's original starting lineup in Miami,but was a late scratch. James Loney replaced him and slugged a two-run homer in his first at-bat.

 

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Mets win...Giants & Cards lose.


NL Wild Card Watch.....9/29...(just 3 games to go)

WC #1
Mets +1.5

WC #2
Giants -
Cardinals -1.0

Marlins -5.0
Pirates -5.0