 gave up nine hits, and the run total against him was a season high. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner's ERA rose from 3.26 to 3.98.New York's Pete Alonso hit two solo home runs, giving him 14 this year. J. D. Davis added his fourth homer for the Mets.Trevor Richards (1-5) allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings for his first victory in nine starts this year. Sergio Romo stranded two runners in the eighth and got the final six outs for his seventh save, and the first two-inning save of his career.The Marlins ended a streak of seven consecutive losses to New York. Miami's 11 victories this year, fewest in the majors, include three wins against former Cy Young winners - deGrom, Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber.Miami, shut out in the past two games, broke through in the third against deGrom. Miguel Rojas reached on third baseman Todd Frazier's error. A sacrifice, single and stolen base put runners at second and third, and Cooper singled for his first RBIs of the year.The Marlins added two more runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Alfaro and Rojas. Alfaro's two-run homer in the fifth made it 7-1.PROMOTEDNew York right fielder Carlos Gomez, called up before the game from Triple-A Syracuse, went 0 for 3. The two-time All-Star last played for the Mets when he was a rookie in 2007.TRAINER'S ROOMMets: LF Jeff McNeil (abdomen) was held out of the starting lineup but struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. ... LF Yoenis Cespedes (left and right heel surgeries) took batting practice and has started running.Marlins: SS Rojas (back spasms) returned to the lineup.UP NEXTMets: LHP Steven Matz (forearm irritation) is scheduled to pitch Saturday for the first time since May 3. He's 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA and beat Miami on April 1.Marlins: RHP Pablo Lopez (2-5, 5.93) gave up a career-high 10 runs in his most recent outing, which came against the Mets on May 10. He lasted only three innings.---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Dialed-in deGrom, Mets open series against Marlins The Jacob deGrom April Cy Young Hangover appears to be over.DeGrom, who will face the host Miami Marlins on Friday, won his first Cy Young Award last season by virtue of his incredibly dominant 1.70 ERA, a 0.912 WHIP and 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings.This season, he began in impressive fashion -- 13 scoreless innings in his first two starts, including 24 strikeouts and two walks.But then came the baseball "hangover" -- a stretch of three consecutive starts in which he allowed 14 runs, 18 hits, eight walks and five homers in 13 innings.Fortunately for the Mets, deGrom has turned things around in three May starts, pitching to a 1.29 ERA with 21 strikeouts, four walks and one homer allowed in 21 innings. Batters are hitting just .162 with a .469 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against him in May."He looks like Jacob deGrom again," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after his ace beat the Marlins 4-1 last Saturday. "He's back, and it's very comforting." The Mets need a strong performance from deGrom after losing their second straight game on Thursday, falling 7-6 at Washington.New York lost two starters to injuries in the finale against the Nationals: right fielder Michael Conforto (concussion) and left fielder Jeff McNeil (abdominal tightness). Conforto did not travel to Miami with the team, and McNeil is day-to-day.DeGrom is 3-4 with a 3.26 ERA overall this season. He is 2-0 against the Marlins, allowing two walks, one run and no homers in 14 innings while striking out 22.Over his career in eight starts at Marlins Park, deGrom is 2-2 with a 3.33 ERA. In 18 overall starts vs. Miami, he is 6-6 with a 3.24 ERA.Of course, some of those Marlins teams he faced in previous years featured dangerous offensive players such as Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, J. T. Realmuto, Justin Bour, Derek Dietrich and Dee Gordon.The current Marlins -- who are the worst team in baseball and are on pace to lose 122 games this season -- have not scored since Saturday.Miami has lost seven straight games, and the last thing Marlins hitters want to see now is a dialed-in deGrom. In a 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, the Marlins went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. For the season, they are batting .200 in those circumstances."It's really frustrating when you are on a bad streak like this," said Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas, who left the Wednesday game due to back spasms. "We have a bunch of hitters who are grinding but trying to do too much. We're trying to hit homers instead of putting the ball in play and letting the next guy do his job." The Marlins, who have been shut out nine times this season, are last in the majors in runs, doubles, triples, homers, on-base percentage and slugging.Miami already fired its hitting coach earlier this season, and Marlins management may start to realize that cutting payroll is having a chilling effect on the roster."I don't think I've ever been through anything quite like this," said Marlins manager Don Mattingly, a six-time All-Star during a 14-year career with the New York Yankees that included a batting title in 1984 and the American League MVP award in 1985.On the mound, things are a bit better for the Marlins, who will start right-hander Trevor Richards (0-5, 4.46 ERA) on Friday.Batters are hitting .200 against Richards' killer changeup, which he throws 35 percent of the time. However, the rest of his arsenal is not nearly as well-developed, and that's where opposing batters are taking advantage.In eight outings this year, he has four quality starts. He has been consistently mediocre. In 25 starts as a rookie last year, Richards -- who turned 26 on Wednesday -- had a 4.42 ERA. And that's almost identical to what he has done this year.For his career against the Mets, Richards is 0-2 with a 3.57 ERA in three starts. In his lone start against New York this year, he allowed three runs in six innings during a 6-4 loss on April 3.--Field Level Media
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