Luis Severino and the Mets bullpen combined for a four-hit shutout in the 1-0 win against the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
It’s the first time the Mets won a game by that score this season and are now 50-47.
Here are the takeaways…
-Severino pitched very effectively on Saturday and had extra oomph on his fastball. The right-hander worked around some trouble, but none bigger than in the fourth. After a Pete Alonso error allowed the Marlins to have men on first and second and one out, Severino got a groundout and struck out Xavier Edwards after trailing 3-0 in the count to keep Miami off the board.
He would get through six straight Marlins before running into trouble in the sixth after hitting Jake Burger and walking Otto Lopez with two outs. Carlos Mendoza came out to talk with Severino but left him in. The righty rewarded his skipper’s faith by striking out the next batter to get through six innings.
Severino pitched six shutout innings (91 pitches/53 strikes), giving up just two hits and three walks while striking out seven batters.
His average fastball this season is usually around 95 mph but he averaged 96.8 mph and hit 98 mph four times.
-The Mets bullpen was also nails, pitching in and out of trouble. Jose Butto walked the leadoff man in the seventh but stranded him at third base, punctuated by two strikeouts, to keep the score 1-0. Dedniel Nunez, working for the second consecutive day and giving up a run in Friday’s loss, came in to pitch the eighth. The righty struck out the first two batters but then allowed back-to-back singles. Nunez pitched out of trouble by striking out his third batter of the inning on three pitches.
–Edwin Diaz was called on to complete the save in the place where he has had trouble this season. The last time he pitched in Miami, Diaz gave up a four-run lead in the ninth on May 18, a game that was eventually won by the Marlins in extra innings.
The same wouldn’t happen on Saturday, Diaz got the Marlins in order to pick up his 11th save this season.
–Francisco Alvarez, for the second night in a row, hit a long fly ball that he just missed. In the second, with a man on, he launched a 96 mph pitch from Roddery Munoz 360 feet that forced left fielder Nick Gordon to the wall. It would have been a home run in 12 parks.
Alvarez would push across the game’s first run in the fourth with a grounder up the middle with the bases loaded. Edwards made a fantastic dive to keep the ball from going into the outfield and get the force out at second. The young catcher finished 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
-The Mets offense just could not break through when it counted. They left nine runners on base on Friday and left 10 on Saturday, going 0-for-7 with RISP in the process.
The saving grace? The Marlins were just as bad, going 0-for-7 and stranding 10 runners on base.
–DJ Stewart who entered Saturday’s game in a 1-for-17 stretch, hit a single in his first at-bat. He finished 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout before being pulled for defensive purposes in the sixth.
Jeff McNeil came down to Earth after a multi-homer game on Friday. He struck out in his first at-bat but scorched a pitch (101.1 mph) with men on the corners that was snagged by Josh Bell at first base. McNeil would finish hitless (0-4) with two strikeouts.
-The Mets had six hits in total and Jose Iglesias had two of them. He’s 12-for-his-last-19 over his last few games and
Game MVP: Luis Severino
Sevy, while not pitching at his sharpest thanks to his three walks, struck out seven batters but more importantly kept the Marlins off the board for six innings after Sean Manaea gutted through five in Friday’s loss.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets and Marlins continue their four-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m.
Christian Scott (0-2, 4.36 ERA) looks for his first win of his major league career as he goes against Trevor Rogers (1-9, 4.72 ERA).
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