Mets vs. Marlins Recap: Hits for all as Marlins flounder

All but one Met starter had at least one hit and Bartolo Colon tossed an eight inning gem in the Mets 12-1 victory. Yoenis Cespedes led the way with three doubles, while Michael Conforto jacked his first big league home run and Travis d'Arnaud had his first two hits since returning from the DL, both doubles. Lucas Duda was the only Met that went hitless, walking twice and striking out four times. Considering his recent hot streak, I think we can forgive the golden sombrero tonight.

The Mets got off to a fast start against Marlins starter Tom Koehler. Cespedes's first double and a walk to Duda put two men on in the first before Wilmer Flores struck out. Undeterred, Kelly Johnson started the second with a walk in front of Travis d'Arnaud's double, bringing Michael Conforto up to the plate with runners on second and third. After working the count to 3-and-1, Conforto smashed a ball to centerfield for his first career home run. The ball traveled 435 feet and left Conforto's bat at 115 MPH:

Conforto's home run was just the beginning. In the fifth, Curtis Granderson led off with a single and Daniel Murphy walked. Cespedes then doubled again, this time to right center field, missing a home run by a matter of inches. Both Granderson and Murphy scored to increase the lead to 5-0. After a Duda strikeout, Flores doubled and Johnson singled to drive in another two runs and push the lead to seven.

The Mets got right back to work in the sixth, when Michael Conforto walked to leadoff the inning. Colon failed to get a bunt down, Granderson walked, and Murphy flied out to center. Cespedes again came to the plate with runners on first and second and blasted his third double of the night, hitting a line drive off of the left field wall. Cespedes would then move to third and score on two wild pitches, bringing the Met lead to double digits.

Meanwhile, Bartolo Colon was quietly having an excellent outing. The Marlins put runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, but Colon escaped each time. He retired thirteen straight Marlins between the fourth and eighth innings before a two out single from Ichiro Suzuki and a double from Christian Yelich pushed in the only Marlin run of the night. Along the way, Colon singled as part of another rally in the seventh, his sixth hit of the year. Hopefully, Colon can string some solid starts together against the Mets weaker opponents and eat valuable innings for a team trying to preserve the arms of their young guns.

Colon exited after eight innings and left the ninth to Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin had no trouble setting down the side in order, but the win was soured when Toma Talis's bat escaped his grip and struck a fan behind the third base dugout. There's been no word yet on the fan's condition, but hopefully there were no serious injuries.

With the win and the Nationals loss, the Mets now stand alone in first place for the first time since June. It's the latest the Mets have had sole possession of first place since September of 2008. Additionally, the Giants blew a six run lead against the Braves, meaning the Mets move up a game in the wild card standings as well. With the additional news that Steven Matz started throwing, it was all around a pretty great day of Met baseball.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Fish Stripes GameThread

Win Probability Added

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Big winners: Bartolo Colon, +19% WPA; Travis d'Arnaud, +14% WPA; Michael Conforto, +13% WPA
Big losers: None
Teh aw3s0mest play: Michael Conforto homers with two men on in the second, +14.4%
Teh sux0rest play: Wilmer Flores strikes out in the first, -4.2% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +19% WPA
Total batter WPA: +31% WPA
GWRBI!: Michael Conforto