Monday, April 11, 2016

Stanton, Ozuna HR as Marlins rout Mets

Looking to reverse their slow start to the season, the Marlins unleashed every bit of their offensive star power Monday at Citi Field, parlaying a seven-run second inning into a 10-3 drubbing of the Mets.
Giancarlo Stanton homered, and Adeiny Hechavarria and Christian Yelich drove in two runs apiece off Mets starter Steven Matz, who could not escape the second in his season debut.
Marcell Ozuna also homered later in the game, and Dee Gordon tallied an RBI for a Miami club that saw all eight of its starting position players cross home at least once. Other box score stuffers included Martin Prado and Chris Johnson, each of whom reached base safely four times.
Much of that damage came against Matz, whose debut came after a nine-day layoff. Rather than lean on their rookie starter, the Mets split the game's final 7 1/3 innings amongst a quintet of relievers. Even the Marlins were not immune from heavy bullpen usage because their own starter, Jarred Cosart, could not finish the fifth inning despite being staked an eight-run lead.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Touchdown in the second: After four straight close games, the Marlins finally gave themselves some breathing room. They did it in a big way with a seven-run second inning, sending 10 to the plate. Twice previously this season, Miami scored as many as three runs in an inning. Hechavarria and Yelich highlighted the seven runs with two-run singles. Stanton capped the frame with a two-run homer, his second of the season. According to Statcast™, it went a projected 419 feet from home plate and had an exit velocity of 106 mph.
Field goal in the fourth: The Mets mustered at least some life in the fourth inning, doing enough damage to ensure that Cosart would not receive the win. Consecutive hits fromDavid WrightYoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda resulted in one run. A Cosart wild pitch and a fielder's choice by Asdrubal Cabrera scored two more. While the rally put some spark into a thinning Citi Field crowd, it was only enough to draw the Mets within five runs of the lead.
Narveson key K: Chris Narveson, who surrendered a double to Bryce Harper and was charged with two runs in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Nationals, came up big for Miami in the fifth inning. After Cosart was lifted with two outs and two on in a five-run game, Narveson struck out Lucas Duda with a full count. The lefty backed that up with a scoreless sixth, earning him the win.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Three Marlins have hit safely in all five games -- Stanton, Yelich and Prado. Every Mets regular, by contrast, has had at least one hitless game.
REPLAY GOES MARLINS WAY
Three batters into the first inning, the Marlins asked for a review. It ended up being a good decision. Miami challenged the out call on Yelich, who grounded softly to third. Wright made the throw to first, and the bang-bang play was ruled safe. Manager Don Mattingly requested a review. After 2 minutes, 10 seconds, the call was reversed, giving Yelich an infield hit.
WHAT'S NEXT
Marlins: Six days after striking out 13 batters in a loss in his first start, Jose Fernandez is set for Tuesday's 7:10 p.m. ET sandwich game in the series. The right-hander, who made his MLB debut at Citi Field in 2013, hasn't been as consistent on the road as he is at home, where he is 17-1. Away, he is 5-9 with a 3.78 ERA.
Mets: With their bullpen threadbare following 7 1/3 innings of relief in Monday's series opener, the Mets will seek a lengthy start at 7:10 p.m. ET Tuesday from right-hander Noah Syndergaard. He'll face Fernandez in a marquee clash of talented young superstars.

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