Tyrone Taylor and Harrison Bader drove in two runs apiece in the first inning as the visiting New York Mets averted a three-game sweep by defeating the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Brandon Nimmo gave the Mets some breathing room with a two-run homer, part of a three-run burst in the top of the ninth.
New York left-hander Sean Manaea (3-1) worked five innings to get the win. After the Mets’ bullpen let a four-run lead get away on Saturday, three relievers held the Marlins to a run and three hits over the final four innings. They struck out seven.
Reed Garrett, who came on in the eighth with the Mets nursing a 4-3 lead, struck out four over two innings to get his second save of the season.
The Marlins had won four straight games and five of their last six, while the Mets won for just the third time in their last 10 games.
Miami reached Manaea for Dane Myers’ two-run homer in the second inning to halve their early deficit.
With two runners on in the fourth and New York still ahead 4-2, Manaea struck out two to dodge the threat, and he escaped unharmed with another runner aboard in the fifth when Josh Bell came up just a few feet short of a tying homer to left-center field.
Manaea allowed five hits and a walk, and he struck out four.
The Mets took advantage of the early control problems of Marlins starter Sixto Sanchez (0-2). A hit batter, a walk and a line-drive single loaded the bases with one out, and Taylor ripped a long double to center for a 2-0 lead. A walk reloaded the bases, and after Sanchez induced a shallow flyout, Bader singled in two more runs.
Sanchez made it through four innings, yielding four runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Christian Bethancourt, who began the day batting .132, brought the Marlins to within 4-3 with a home run to lead off the seventh against Jake Diekman, New York’s third pitcher. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was then hit by a pitch, but he broke for second too soon on a stolen base attempt and Diekman threw him out.
Miami’s fourth reliever, Anthony Bender, gave up three runs on four hits in the ninth.
Taylor, Bader and Francisco Lindor each had two of the Mets’ 12 hits, and Otto Lopez had two of the Marlins’ eight.
–Field Level Media
