Final Score: Marlins 3, Mets 2 — Mejia meh, Alvarez efficient as Amazins fall to Fish

When Jenrry Mejia threw a gem in DC, fans had visions of a third brilliant young pitcher to accompany Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. That may yet materialize for all we know, and a few fleeting glimpses of it could be seen in Miami tonight. However, the domination he exerted over the Nationals gave way to a more pedestrian performance against the Marlins, further undercut by some bad luck and poor execution from his teammates.

The Marlins jumped out in front on a Jake Marisnick solo shot (his first major league homer) in the bottom of the second. In the third, Mejia and John Buck misplayed a dribbler in front of the plate into a single. This, plus a double by Christian Yelich and an ill-advised relay throw led to two more runs. That was all Mejia allowed, as he scattered six hits and struck out four batters over six innings while working his way out of a few jams, some of his making, others not.

However, the Mets lineup showed zero patience all night and allowed Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez to breeze along at a Greg Maddux-like clip. An Ike Davis double brought in a run in the top of the sixth, but other opportunities were foiled by bad bunts, lack of hustle, and the dreaded GIDP. Mets batters hit into three double plays in the first seven innings and permitted Alvarez to throw only 86 pitches to get that far.

The Mets scraped out another run in the eighth when Eric Young walked, went all the way to third on a ball bobbled by the shortstop, then scored on a passed ball. But despite a few more threats in that inning and the ninth, they could not push across the tying run against the Marlins' bullpen.

Full recap to come.

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; your effort in the game thread embiggens us all.