Final Score: Marlins 8, Mets 1—David Wright Pinch Hit in This Game

The Marlins pounded the Mets’ beleaguered bullpen that now lacks Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman en route to an 8-1 victory.

But that’s not what really matters about this game. What really matters about this game is that David Wright pinch hit in this game. It was a fleeting moment. If you blinked, you may have missed it. But he did lead off the fifth inning so he spent a significant time in the on-deck circle drinking in the rousing applause from the Citi Field faithful. On the very first pitch he saw from Jose Urena, he hit a sharp grounder to third for an out. But it was 91 mph off the bat—definitely solid contact.

Meanwhile, despite getting off to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Urena, the Mets managed nothing else against him through his six innings of work. The skinny lead held until the fourth when the Marlins finally broke through against Corey Oswalt. Oswalt was not assisted by his defense—a theme that persisted throughout the evening—as Jay Bruce missed a sharp liner he probably should have caught, which would eventually result in a run to tie up the game.

The floodgates would open against the Mets bullpen, however. The Marlins took the lead in the top of the fifth—an inning that seemed interminable with David Wright’s pinch hitting appearance looming—scoring two runs off Paul Sewald. They added another run in the sixth, thanks to an error by Todd Frazier. The Marlins piled it on in the seventh, Drew Gagnon’s second inning of work. But that inning also featured an error by Amed Rosario. All told, only one of the five runs surrendered by Gagnon over his two innings of work would be earned.

The Marlins’ bullpen made quick work of the Mets in the late innings, with the Mets managing just three base runners and no hits off the combined efforts of Kyle Barraclough, Jarlin Garcia, and Nick Wittgren. Tim Peterson contributed two scoreless innings of work to finish out the game for the Mets.

Full recap to follow.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

1. MetsFan4Decades: 144
2. deegie: 68
3. stickguy: 66
4. LaRomaBella: 47
5. Knurk: 40
6. AnneInFlushing: 37
7. Allison McCague: 29
8. doctor prancer: 23
9. NateW: 23
10. The Nameless One: 21