Game Chat: Marlins vs. Mets, 12:05 P.M.

Friday, August 28, 2024 • 12:05 PM
Citi Field • Flushing, NY
RHP Valente Bellozo (2-1, 2.28) vs. RHP Paul Blackburn (5-3, 4.43)
Roku

The New York Mets go for the sweep this afternoon against the Miami Marlins. A few seasons ago, MLB selected one game per Sunday to play a game that started before noon on Peacock. That contract is now owned by Roku and the start time for these games is have been right around noon. This will be the Mets’ first time on the streaming service.

Luis Severino gave the Mets the spark they needed Saturday, tossing the first complete game shutout for the Mets for the first time since Jacob deGrom did it back in 2021. The Braves also won on Saturday so the Mets are still one game out of the wild card race.

Mets Lineup

1. Francisco Lindor, SS
2. Mark Vientos, 3B
3. Brandon Nimmo, LF
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Starling Marte, RF
6. Jesse Winker, DH
7. Jose Iglesias, 2B
8. Tyrone Taylor, CF
9. Luis Torrens, C

Paul Blackburn had his first rough start of the Mets earlier this week, allowing seven runs (six earned) against his old club. Before that, he allowed only two earned runs over 12 innings.

Overall, this season, he has a 4.43 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 1.224 WHIP, and a 91 ERA+ across 67 innings. Blackburn faced the Marlins before his injury back in May and it was a good start. He held the Marlins to one run, a solo home run, over seven innings. This also highlights his weakness this season; keeping the ball in the park. In 2024 he’s allowed 1.3 HR/9.

The Marlins have the following career numbers against Blackburn:

• Vidal Bruján 0-3
• Jake Burger 1-2, BB
• Nick Fortes 1-2, HR
• Derek Hill 0-1, K
• Otto Lopez 0-0, BB
• Emmanuel Rivera 0-2
• Jesús Sánchez 1-5, 2B, BB, K

Marlins Lineup

1. Xavier Edwards, SS
2. Jake Burger, DH
3. Jonah Bride, 1B
4. Jesús Sánchez, RF
5. Derek Hill, CF
6. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B
7. Kyle Stowers, LF
8. Otto Lopez, 2B
9. Nick Fortes, C

The Mets bats will close out the series against a rookie, Valente Bellozo. In his first five starts of his major-league career, he has a 2.28 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.940 WHIP, and a 197 ERA+ over 27 2/3 innings. In his last two starts he has not allowed a run over 12 2/3 innings, scattering nine hits and three walks.

Bellozo has posted a 4.64 ERA over 66 innings and 14 games (13 starts) in the minors this season. No one on the Mets roster has faced Bellozo in a major league game.

Game Notes

Prior to Sunday’s game, the Mets announced that they’ve activated outfielder Starling Marte from the injured list and designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment.

Francisco Lindor leads the National League in fWAR with 5.9. Shohei Ohtani trails closely at 5.8 and Elly De La Cruz sits at 5.6.

On Saturday, Mets prospect, and former second-round pick, Nick Morabito stole his 50th base of the season. He has accomplished the feat between Low-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn.

The Mets enter the day one game back of the Atlanta Braves for the final wild card spot. The Braves finish their series in Los Angeles against the Angels at 4:07 pm ET. The pitching matchup in that game is Charlie Morton (4.40 ERA) for Atlanta versus Jack Kochanowicz (7.98 ERA across 14 2/3 innings) for Los Angeles.

The next closest teams to the Mets in the standings are three games back; the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals who are both one game under .500.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Starling Marte. Marte was in the dugout on Saturday after playing a couple of full games in Syracuse (Triple-A). Marte has been out for a couple of months with a right knee injury. Before the injury, Marte was slashing .278/.328/.416 with a 112 OPS+ and was a critical part of the Mets’ lineup.
2. Pete Alonso. Alonso hit his 100th career home run at Citi Field on Saturday. It was also his 219th career home run, putting him one homer behind Mike Piazza (220) for third all time in Mets history. Topping off the list for the Mets of course is Darryl Strawberry (252) and David Wright (242). If Pete Alonso stays with the Mets after this season, the home run title is almost certainly his.
3. Francisco Lindor. Lindor should have been an All-Star. That’s an old conversation. For the better part of the last month, Lindor has forced his way into the National League MVP conversation. Lindor went 2-for-3 in Saturday’s game, leading off the game with a home run. Since August 7, Lindor has gone 17-for-43 at the plate with three doubles, a triple, and two homers slashing .395/.435/.651.

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