Mets vs. Marlins Recap: No Run Support

The loss column continues to grow, as the Mets dropped the first game of their weekend set against the Miami Marlins. Chris Flexen made the start and pitched five-and-one-third innings, allowing three runs with four walks and just one strikeout.

Flexen found himself in some trouble in the second inning. After issuing a walk to Marcell Ozuna, J.T. Realmuto hit a home run to put the Marlins ahead 2-0. He started to find his rhythm somewhat, collecting his lone strikeout from Derek Dietrich and then coaxing ground outs from Tomas Telis and Justin Nicolino.

The Marlins continued to produce in the top of third, as Flexen walked Giancarlo Stanton and allowed a double to Christian Yelich to put two men on with one out. Ozuna hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring Stanton home and extend Miami’s lead to 3-0. Control continued to be an issue for young Flexen, who issued four total walks on the night, two of which were to Stanton. Walks aside, Flexen mitigated any major damage from the Marlins’ star player, which is probably the best you could ask for.

In the bottom of the third, after Flexen struck out at the plate, Juan Lagares and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a pair of singles. Wilmer Flores hit a line drive single toward Marcell Ozuna, which brought home Lagares and cut Miami’s lead to two.

The top of the sixth brought a pitching change for New York, as Flexen walked Ozuna, got a fly out from Realmuto, and allowed a single to Dietrich to put runners at first and second. Josh Smoker entered in relief and promptly collected two outs from Telis and Miguel Rojas.

Amed Rosario made his mark on the game in the bottom of the sixth, collecting a two-out single off Dustin McGowan and stealing second base. McGowan tried to pick off Rosario at second and threw wide, which allowed Rosario to take third. A line out from Matt Reynolds ended the inning.

With the game now firmly in the hands of both bullpens, the Mets and Marlins traded zeroes through the remaining three frames. Smoker, Paul Sewald, and Jerry Blevins combined for three-and-two-thirds hitless innings. Unfortunately, the Marlins’ bullpen held the Mets mostly hitless, holding the 3-1 lead for the win.

Rafael Montero takes the hill against Vance Worley in the second game of the series tonight at 7:10pm.

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Win Probability Added

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Josh Smoker +11.3% WPA, Wilmer Flores +11% WPA
Big losers: Chris Flexen -16.9% WPA, Travis d’Arnaud -23% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Wilmer Flores RBI single +8.8 WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Travis d’Arnaud GIDP -11.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -1.7% WPA
Total batter WPA: -48.3% WPA
GWRBI!: Marcell Ozuna