Heriberto Hernandez lofted a game-tying triple and pinch hitter Connor Norby smashed a homer that capped a six-run fifth inning as the host Miami Marlins rallied to hand the New York Mets a costly 6-2 loss on Friday night.
The Mets (82-78) ended the night tied with Cincinnati (82-78) in the battle for the final National League wild-card spot. The Reds, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Friday night, hold the tiebreaker over New York. The Arizona Diamondbacks (80-80) were eliminated from contention when they lost 7-4 to the San Diego Padres later Friday night.
Miami (78-82) also isn’t in contention for the postseason, but the Marlins are 6-5 against the Mets this season.
Sandy Alcantara (11-12) earned the win, pitching seven-plus innings and allowing six hits, two walks and two runs. He is 3-0 in three starts against the Mets this season.
Tyler Phillips picked up his fourth save of the season, getting the Marlins out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.
Mets rookie Brandon Sproat (0-2) held Miami hitless through three innings, but he did not survive the fifth. His final line: five hits, one walk and four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Mets third baseman Brett Baty left the game in the second inning due to right side soreness.
New York took a lead on the game’s second pitch as Francisco Lindor pulled a 392-foot homer to right-center. It was Lindor’s 31st homer of the season and his 31st career leadoff dinger.
Juan Soto followed by hitting a single, stealing second and scoring on Pete Alonso’s double off the third-base bag.
But the Mets struggled to extend their lead. They put two runners on in the second, but Lindor’s 100-mph liner was caught by first baseman Troy Johnston, who stepped on the bag to double-up Luis Torrens.
New York threatened again in the third as Soto reached third with one out, but the Mets stranded him.
In the fifth, Griffin Conine hit a leadoff single. Johnston followed with a 101-mph line drive that deflected off the glove of first baseman Alonso. Had Alonso made that play, he could have walked to the bag to double-up Conine.
Instead, it was a single, and Hernandez knocked an opposite-field triple to tie the score at 2. It was the rookie’s first career triple.
Miami took the lead on Jakob Marsee’s RBI groundout, and the Marlins added Xavier Edwards’ run-scoring single and Norby’s two-run homer to cap the rally.
Norby’s blast off of reliever Gregory Soto was long gone — measured at 422 feet to left field.
The Mets loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Phillips entered the game and retired pinch hitter Mark Vientos on a popup.
–Field Level Media
