Reed Garrett and the Mets salvage a win in Miami

Mercifully, the Mets managed to salvage a win out of their visit to Miami, topping the Marlins 7-3 in the series finale. Sean Manaea got the win with five innings of two-run ball, while Reed Garrett secured the two inning save. The offensive performance was pretty distributed, but Brandon Nimmo – batting third – had what felt like the game sealing hit in the ninth.

Much like Saturday’s game, the Mets jumped out to an early lead, tagging Marlin’s starter Sixto Sanchez for four runs in the opening frame. Tyrone Taylor and Harrison Bader had the big hits – the former a double, the latter a single, each driving in two – before Omar Narvaez flew out to end the threat. A four run lead against the second worst offense in baseball should be plenty safe, but we all know how that can go.

Sure enough, the Marlins gradually chipped away. Sean Manaea gave back two runs in the bottom of the second on a home run by Dane Myers. That was all Manaea gave up, but the bullpen coughed up another run in the seventh on a home run by Christian Bethancourt. The homers for both Myers and Bethancourt were their first of the year.

The Mets offense, meanwhile, didn’t do anything else until the ninth when they again mounted a late-game rally. Brandon Nimmo blasted a two-run home run, and an RBI single from Brett Baty added an insurance run to make it 7-3. Another four-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

No Edwin Diaz this time though. Reed Garrett – who struck out the side in the eighth – came back out to try for the two inning save. Perhaps a desperation move, but the Mets are were desperate for a win. Despite lacking the same juice he showed in the previous frame, Garrett worked around a single to secure his second career save without too much drama.

Getting a single win in Miami is not what the Mets had in mind here, but salvaging this one was an absolute must. They now sit at 21-25, which is frankly not horrible when you consider how bad the team has looked the past two weeks. You have to think the various illnesses going around the clubhouse right now are taking something out of this squad. Hopefully they’ll be a bit healthier by the time they get to Cleveland for their next series.

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What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Reed Garret, +16.5% WPA
Big Mets loser: None
Mets pitchers: +32.8% WPA
Mets hitters: +17.2% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Tyrone Taylor drives in two with a first-inning double, +15.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Christian Bethancourt homers in the seventh, -14.4% WPA