It was a game where the second to last and last place teams would face each other however one team is going to win the series.
Brian Anderson hit a two-run home run off Jacob deGrom, and the Miami Marlins climbed out of the last place in the NL East with a comeback win past the New York Mets 5-2 on Saturday.
The Mets have been appalling. The Mets (32-48) lost for the 10th time in 11 games and fell into the last place for the first time this year. They finished 5-21 this month for the worst June in franchise history.
On the opposite side of the diamond, the rebuilding Marlins (34-50) went 14-14 in June, their best month this season.
“I’m kind of a day to day guy, so I don’t know where we started or how we did,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly stated. “I’ve liked the way we’ve played, I feel like we played with energy through the course of the year. I think we’ve hit a couple of spells where it did not go good. I think we are gaining some type of identity to what kind of games we need to play to win.”
For the second game in a row, a Marlins pitcher beat the Mets while making his first major league start. Pablo Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs in six innings in his big league debut.
“It was amazing from the beginning as soon as I stepped out the dugout before warming up,” Lopez said of the atmosphere. “I knew this is where I wanted to be, and I just need to focus, calm myself down; there is work that needs to be done, I have the support of my teammates.”
It looked daunting when Lopez gave up a home run in the top of the first inning to Jose Bautista who was the second batter. Lopez was the 17th rookie and 12th rookie pitcher used by Marlins, both most in the majors.
“It is something I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Lopez stated.
Lopez, who went 2-3 with a 1.44 ERA in 12 minor league starts between AA Jacksonville and AAA New Orleans this season, was acquired by Miami last season in a trade that sent reliever David Phelps to the Seattle Mariners.
DeGrom (5-4), who departed after six innings trailing 3-2, fell to 1-4 in his past five starts despite allowing only 15 runs. His ERA, lowest in the majors coming into the game, rose to 1.84.
DeGrom was merely lethal in his last start, giving up three runs in six innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday, and paid for it with a loss since the Mets’ lineup gave him virtually no run support once again.
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