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Mets' bats come alive in season-saving 5-0 win over Marlins

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Mets' bats come alive in season-saving 5-0 win over Marlins

The Mets defeated the Marlins, 5-0, with a combined one-hitter in Miami on Saturday, assuring themselves of at least being alive on the final day of the season, as they wait to see if the Cincinnati Reds beat the Brewers in Milwaukee on Saturday night.

The game was relatively close at 3-0 before the Mets added two runs in the top of the ninth.

Clay Holmes and Pete Alonso were the stars of the game, as Holmes allowed only one hit over six innings and Alonso sparked the offense early with an RBI double in the first inning and a solo home run in the third.

Here are the takeaways…

— With the Mets desperately needing a well-pitched game, Holmes came up big, delivering six shutout innings, allowing the Marlins’ only hit, a line-drive single to center by Xavier Edwards in the fourth inning. Holmes’ signature sinker was a dominant pitch, as he got 11 ground-ball outs among the 18 he recorded. He struck out two hitters while walking three. It was the first time Holmes had gone six innings since Aug. 23 and only the second time since June 7.

— Overall, Holmes' final regular-season start finished off a successful transition from reliever to starter. His six innings on Saturday give him a total of 165.1 frames for the season, nearly 100 more than his next-highest total of 70 in his big-league career, which he reached in 2021. His ERA of 3.53 will put him in the top 10 in the NL.

— The Mets got three hitless innings from their bullpen, as Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers, and Edwin Diaz finished out the one-hitter. Carlos Mendoza had Ryan Helsley warming up alongside Diaz as the Mets tacked on runs in the ninth, but decided the 5-0 lead wasn’t big enough to trust anyone but his star closer. Diaz threw only 13 pitches, so he should be available, if necessary, on Sunday.

— Alonso is finishing his impressive season in style, as he hit his 38th home run of the season and his league-leading 41st double. His two RBI gave him 126 for the season, second in the NL to Kyle Schwarber’s total of 132. With one triple on the season as well, Alonso now has 80 extra-base hits, the second time in his career he has reached that number. The other was in his 2019 rookie season, when he hit 53 home runs.

— Jeff McNeil broke out of a big slump to push the Mets’ lead to 3-0, lining a double down the right field line in the top of the sixth inning, driving home Alonso from second. McNeil was in a 3-for-40 funk at the time, his season average down to .246.

— With two walks in the game, Juan Soto broke the Mets’ season record of 126, set by John Olerud in 1998.

Game MVP: Clay Holmes

Holmes not only delivered a gem when the Mets needed it most, but by going six innings, he also gave Mendoza more flexibility for Sunday, since the manager didn’t have to use either Sean Manaea or David Peterson — the two most likely candidates to start the season finale.

Short starts have been at the root of the Mets’ problems over the last three months. Since the now-famous date of June 13, when they had the best record in the majors, Mets starters entered Saturday with 421 innings logged, the fewest of any team in baseball.

Highlights

What's next

The Mets (83-78) will play their critical regular-season finale on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 p.m.

LHP Sean Manaea (2-4, 5.80 ERA) is slated to start, opposite RHP Edward Cabrera (7-7, 3.66 ERA).



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