Stro's gem not enough as Mets fall in Miami
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MIAMI -- Wasted opportunities were the downfall of the Mets, as the Marlins' Jazz Chisholm Jr. clubbed a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning off Mets reliever Jeurys Familia in a 3-2 loss at loanDepot park on Thursday night.
The loss wasted another outstanding effort from Mets starter Marcus Stroman, who worked 6 1/3 innings in his Major League-leading 30th start of the season. Stroman allowed four hits and one run but did not figure in the decision. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
“I do everything I can to put my team in a position to win when I’m out there,” Stroman said. “I was pretty locked in. I don’t think they made solid contact all night. I was rolling. I felt pretty well.”
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Stroman has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 22 starts this year, tying Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and Kevin Gausman for the Major League lead.
“It’s just a testament of the work that goes into it,” Stroman said. “It’s my 30th start of the year, and I’d like to make a huge shoutout to the staff here -- the trainers, everybody here that’s been involved. I’d like to throw a huge shoutout to my family, my girl, everyone who’s been involved in the process.
“I didn’t throw at all last year. I had zero innings pitched. So to come in and be healthy and to make my 30th start is just a huge testament to the people around me as well as the work that’s gone into it. It’s been unbelievable, and it’s been a teamwork effort.”
The loss also wasted a big effort at the plate from Javier Báez. The Mets’ second baseman slapped a ground-rule double in the first inning and scored on consecutive wild pitches from Marlins lefty starter Jesús Luzardo to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Then he clubbed a long home run to center field in the third to make it 2-0. Statcast projected Báez’s 29th homer of the season at 438 feet.
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It was the Mets’ 13th home run in their last seven games. They have homered in 14 of their last 15 games.
Báez walked in the sixth, stole both second and third, his 15th and 16th swipes of the season, but those efforts were wasted when he was left stranded.
In 17 games since returning from the injured list on Aug. 22, Báez is batting .323 (20-for-62) with 15 runs, six doubles, five home runs and nine RBIs.
“We’ve got to stay focused, slow everything down, and that’s the way we need to be,” Báez said of overcoming the frustration of another close loss. “We just have to compete.”
Last, but certainly not least, the Mets wasted a leadoff triple in the eighth by Pete Alonso, opening the door for Miami.
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“We’ve missed opportunities, we were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position,” noted manager Luis Rojas. “We had one guy that basically was our offense tonight, and it was Javy with his baserunning abilities and with the homer.
“Today, I thought we had some chances, we just didn’t deliver. We felt like we were going to drive that run in. It just didn’t happen. We expect the guys to be better as we move forward from this game.”