Mets Beat Marlins as Eury Pérez Struggles Again

MIAMI — The New York Mets (66-78) turned a strong offensive showing into a 9-4 win over the Miami Marlins (72-73) on Monday afternoon at loanDepot park, overcoming a brief second-inning stumble to pull away late.

The biggest storyline for Miami was another rough outing from right-hander Eury Pérez, who continues to struggle after what had been a fine season.

Pérez allowed a season-worst 10 hits and seven runs over four innings, with five of those runs charged as earned. He also walked three and struck out five while throwing 92 pitches. His ERA climbed from 3.72 to 3.94.

It marked the third consecutive start in which Pérez was roughed up.

He allowed five earned runs against Washington on Aug. 28 before surrendering six earned runs in his next appearance against Kansas City on Sept. 2.

Monday brought another difficult afternoon, with the Mets repeatedly putting pressure on him and forcing Marlins manager Clayton McCullough to go to his bullpen after four innings.

The Mets jumped on Pérez early. New York scored twice in the first inning, then added another run in the second to build a 3-0 advantage.

Miami answered in the bottom half, with Javier Sanoja's RBI triple and Graham Pauley's three-run homer off Mets right-hander Jonah Tong putting the Marlins ahead 4-3.

That lead quickly vanished. Francisco Alvarez tied the game with an RBI single in the third, and the Mets took control in the fourth. Bo Bichette delivered an RBI single before rookie A.J. Ewing followed with a two-run double, giving New York a 7-4 advantage.

The Mets continued to add on in the sixth. Marcus Semien doubled home Carson Benge, and Ewing followed with an RBI single to push the lead to 9-4.

Bichette, Ewing and the rest of the Mets lineup consistently found ways to keep innings moving, as New York finished with 16 hits.

Ewing provided one of the biggest offensive performances with his two-run double and later RBI single, while Semien contributed an RBI double.

Tong made his first start of the season for New York and settled in after Miami's four-run second inning, while the Mets' bullpen protected the lead.

For the Marlins, Monday's loss was particularly costly, with Miami entering the series still hoping to stay in the National League Wild Card race.

The club is currently 4 1/2 games back of the final spot.

Sandy Alcantara will look to put the Marlins back at .500 once again Tuesday, with a scheduled 6:40 p.m. start.