Miami Marlins continue late-season surge with win over New York Mets
Dee Gordon singled, stole second, and scored in the first inning on Sunday.
He repeated the sequence in the third. And in the seventh, just before Giancarlo Stanton put the dagger in Jacob deGrom’s day with one swing of the bat, Gordon legged out an infield single with his speed and hustle.
If the Marlins harbor any thoughts of pulling off a minor miracle and sneaking into Wild Card contention, it’s going to take more than Stanton to get it done.
It’s going to take more Gordon, more Adam Conley — who turned in a pitching gem in the Marlins’ 6-4 win over the Mets — and more contributions from Stanton’s supporting cast to complete the climb to .500 and beyond.
Stanton clubbed his 45th home run, a three-run shot in the seventh that broke open a tight pitching battle and turned it into the Marlins’ seventh victory in nine games.
The Marlins are now 60-62 and, following an off day Monday, open a four-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies, who own the worst record in the majors.
The Marlins have ridden Stanton’s back during their hot run (18-11 since July 20). He set a Marlins’ franchise record Sunday for most home runs after the All-Star break with his 19th.
But Gordon and Conley had as much, if not more, to do with Sunday’s win.
Gordon went 3 for 5 with three runs and a pair of stolen bases. And Conley was impressive, mowing down the Mets with a career-high 11 strikeouts.
Conley held the Mets to a run, a Yoenis Cespedes home run, on three hits over seven innings.
It was a 2-1 Marlins lead in the seventh when a pair of fielding blunders by the Mets contributed to deGrom’s downfall.
First, Gordon reached on a one-out infield single when Mets rookie shortstop Amed Rosario took his leisurely time making his throw to first. After fielding Gordon’s routine grounder, Rosario double-pumped before letting loose, allowing Gordon the extra time he needed to barely beat the throw.
Then, after Stanton homered, Cespedes dropped a Christian Yelich fly ball for a two-base error. Marcell Ozuna followed immediately with a RBI single. The extra run took on added significance when the Mets scored three in the eighth to cut the gap to 6-4.
But that was as far as they got.
Brad Ziegler worked a scoreless ninth, giving him six saves in as many opportunities since taking over the closer’s role.
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Don’t be surprised if Derek Jeter surrounds himself with personnel he’s known from his Yankees playing days once the new ownership group takes control of the franchise.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, who once covered the Yankees, wrote that Gary Denbo, the Yankees’ vice president of player development, is a “top candidate” to take over as Marlins general manager once the sale of the franchise is approved.
Jeter and Denbo have a “long-time relationship” and are “close,” Feinsand wrote.
Another close ally of Jeter’s who could end up in Miami: former Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez. Martinez resigned in 2013 in the wake of allegations he verbally abused players.
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The Marlins tied three dubious records, either as a team or individually, in their 8-1 loss to the Mets on Saturday.
They grounded into five double plays for only the fifth time in franchise history. Tyler Moore grounded into three twin killings, equaling a mark also held by Martin Prado, Kevin Millar and John Mabry.
The Marlins were also charged with three errors (two by shortstop Miguel Rojas) in the Mets’ 7-run sixth inning. It was the first time they’ve made that many errors in an inning since the 2012 season, and only the 10th time in team history they made that many.
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COMING UP
▪ Monday: Off day
▪ Tuesday: (1st game of doubleheader): Marlins RHP Dan Straily (7-8, 3.80) at Philadelphia Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (9-8, 3.26), 4:10 p.m., Citizens Bank Park.
▪ Tuesday: (2nd game of doubleheader): Marlins RHP Jose Urena (11-5, 3.61) at Phillies (to be announced or Nola), 7:35 p.m., Citizens Bank Park.
This story was originally published August 20, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Miami Marlins continue late-season surge with win over New York Mets."