The Mets have won seven of the nine games since his return. Fernandez wasn’t his sharp self, but he did what he needed to get himself out of trouble and keep the division-rival Mets off the board.
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PHOTO: Jose Reyes, center, scored on a wild pitch after colliding with Marlins pitcher A.J. Ramos.
Jose Reyes dashed home to score the tying run in the eighth on a risky collision at the plate, and the Mets pulled even with Miami for second place in the NL East. NY (68-64) remained 2 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the league’s second wild card.
“I think going into that game certainly our odds of winning were not very good”, Collins said. “It’s a little easier when there’s something on the line”.
Looking to spark a scuffling offense, Marlins manager Don Mattingly shuffled his 2-3-4 hitters. One night after he doubled and eventually scooted home with the game-tying run on a wild pitch in Monday’s eighth inning, Reyes legged out an infield single against Marlins righty Tom Koehler to open the first inning.
Jim Henderson gave up two runs in the ninth, but Jeurys Familia came on to record the final out for his 43rd save – matching the franchise record he shared with Armando Benitez after last season.
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph loses control of the ball as New York Mets’ Asdrubal Cabrera (13) beats the throw to first base of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. They’ve dropped five of seven overall and mustered only 20 runs in their last nine.
New York Mets’ Jose Reyes greets teammates in the dugout after scoring on Alejandro de Aza’s … “It’s not going to work that way”.
“Got a fresh start to the game”, Lugo said. When Wilmer Flores followed with an RBI single, the Mets had taken a 3-2 lead before the first inning’s completion. Granderson, who remained in the game in right field, hit a two-run homer in the seventh. The Mets outfielder walks up to the plate to “Circle of Life” from The Lion King and his walk-off homer went full circle.
BALTIMORE – Josh Donaldson hit his fourth homer in two days and Jose Bautista also went deep in support of Marco Estrada, leading Toronto over Baltimore. It was the shortstop’s 17th home run of the season, and his fourth in 11 games since returning from the disabled list on August 19. Kelly Johnson is at third base, with Jose Reyes sliding over to Cabrera’s spot at shortstop. Jacob deGrom will be moved up a day to start for Matz in the finale of the four-game series, manager Terry Collins said.
If the Mets bats can get the timely hitting they got last season with Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson and newcomer Jay Bruce the Mets will make their move towards another postseason appearance. “We can’t take any chances of giving any outs away”. They haven’t OK’d that yet, ” Collins joked. Shut it down now, Major League Baseball players, because nobody is going to call a shot better than this.
“I don’t try to put that kind of stuff in my head; I know what I can do as a player”, he said. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s not happening for us right now”.
Seth Lugo #67 of the New York Mets pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on August 30, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.
Darvish (5-3) easily outpitched fellow Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma for his third straight win, leaving to a standing ovation with a 6-1 lead in the seventh after throwing 110 pitches, the most since his return from Tommy John surgery. The Royals won for the 18th time in 22 games, closing to within two games of the second AL wild card. New York LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder stiffness) did not feel good while playing catch Monday and will not come off the disabled list on Thursday as the team hoped.
In other injury-related news, Neil Walker remained out of the lineup for the third consecutive game Tuesday with a stiff back.
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If they do, you can bet Cespedes will be a big part of it.
