The New York Mets blew a four-run lead against the Marlins, but MJ Melendez saved the day with a two-run bomb.
The New York Mets won their second game in a row against the Miami Marlins, 9-7, as MJ Melendez hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to win in dramatic fashion.
The Mets took the lead early with four runs in the first inning. The key hits were a pair of two run singles by A.J. Ewing and Brett Baty that put the Mets up 4-0, but the Marlins battled back against Freddy Peralta and a series of relievers to tie the game 7-7 on a two run homer by Owen Caissie in the top of the eighth.
Neither team scored again in regulation, which set the stage for Melendez’s heroics. He hit his home run into the second deck in right field with one out after Juan Soto flied to center, and Melendez’s homer drove in Vidal Brujan, who was inserted as a pinch runner for Bo Bichette.
The victim was Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks, who entered the game in the 10th inning. Austin Warren got the win after holding the Marlins scoreless in the top of the inning.
Neither starter was very good in this one. Michael Meyer of the Marlins had one of his worst games of the season, as he gave up six earned runs in six innings. Peralta was slightly better, but he couldn't make it through the fifth inning, and he would up yielding four runs, two of them earned. He was also victimized defensively by an error by first baseman Mark Vientos that led to the two unearned runs.
The Mets burned through their bullpen again due to Peralta’s short start, with the list of relievers including AJ Minter, Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, Tobias Myers, and Luke Weaver. The Mets did get a homer from Vientos, and they broke out with a total of nine hits in the game. The Marlins outhit them with 12, and as usual their offense against the Mets was relentless.
The primary offensive hero was Ewing, who drove in two runs with a pair of hits and scored one. Bo Bichette also scored two runs in the Mets got production from up and down the lineup.
The Mets win separates the two teams by just the one game in the loss column, and the Mets now get another chanced to catch the Marlins in this series. They'll send Christian Scott to the mound against Tyler Phillips for the Marlins in game two.
