Game Recap: Zack Wheeler, Mets Bats Too Much For Marlins In 7-1 Final
On Friday night, the Mets and visiting Miami Marlins opened the final series of this season’s first half. The Flushing Nine sent Zack Wheeler to the mound. He was opposed by the Marlins Henderson Alvarez.
The Mets hit the ball solidly against Alvarez and built a 4-0 lead by the 3rd inning thanks in part to a long 2-run home run by Lucas Duda. David Wright then gave the Mets a 6-1 lead with another booming 2-run home run in the 5th which effectively knocked Alvarez from the game.
Jul 11, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets celebrate the win against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. New York Mets won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Zack Wheeler cruised through 6.2 innings of work, as the Mets went on to secure the series opener by a 7-1 final score.
Mets Starting Lineup:
1) Curtis Granderson-RF; 2) Daniel Murphy-2B; 3) David Wright-3B; 4) Lucas Duda-1B; 5) Travis d’Arnaud-C; 6) Kirk Nieuwenhuis-LF; 7) Juan Lagares-CF; 8) Ruben Tejada-SS; 9) Zack Wheeler-SP
Game Recap:
Zack Wheeler‘s first pitch of the evening to Miami lead-off batter Christian Yelich was a fastball, outside for ball one. Wheeler retired the side in order with 15 pitches and notched his first strikeout.
Henderson Alvarez‘ first pitch in the bottom of the 1st to Curtis Granderson was a fastball, high for ball one. After Granderson was retired, Daniel Murphy looked at strike three for the second out. Batting third, David Wright connected on the Mets first hit of the game.
With two outs in the bottom of the 2nd, Juan Lagares stroked a double to right. Ruben Tejada followed with a solid base hit up the middle to deliver Lagares with the game’s first run. Zack Wheeler then helped his own cause when he doubled, one hop off the left field wall to score Tejada. It’s worth noting Travis d’Arnaud hit the ball squarely off Alvarez to record the first out on a liner to left, and Curtis Granderson sent a deep fly to the wall for the final out.
After Zack Wheeler retired his first 7 batters to start the game, Adeiny Hechavarria picked up Miami’s first hit in the 3rd, a one out double down the right field line. He advanced to third, but was stranded.
Through 3 full innings, Zack threw 43 pitches, with 28 (65%) going for strikes. He allowed a hit, walked none and fanned a pair.
With one out and David Wright on first in the home 3rd, Lucas Duda unloaded against Alvarez, high and deep over the Subway sign in right field to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.
Miami collected their second hit in the 4th. With Donovan Solano on first, Wheeler retired Giancarlo Stanton for the second time. When Casey McGehee followed with a double down the left field line, Kirk Nieuwenhuis first made a fine play to track the ball in the corner, then relayed accurately to Ruben Tejada. Tejada then threw home to nail McGehee at the plate. Another fine fielding play by Wheeler ended the top of the 4th with the Mets still ahead by a 4-0 score.
With Adeiny Hechavarria‘s second hit off Wheeler, Miami put a pair on base with one out in the 5th. With two outs, Christian Yelich‘s single plated Jarred Saltalamachia to break the shutout.
In the home 5th, David Wright uncorked a booming (2-run) home run into the second deck in left to give the Mets a 6-1 lead. Daniel Murphy scored.
Through six innings pitched, Wheeler was up to 106 pitches thrown with 68 (64%) going for strikes. He allowed one earned run on 5 hits, walked a pair and fanned 5 batters.
Chris Hatcher entered the game in the 6th in relief of Henderson Alvarez. Kirk Nieuwenhuis promptly greeted him with a lead-off triple off the left field wall. Juan Lagares followed with a single to left which plated Nieuwenhuis with the Mets 7th run of the game.
With two outs in the top of the 7th, Zack Wheeler’s night ended upon his 114th pitch of the evening, with 75 pitches (65%) going for strikes. He finished his 19th start of the season surrendering just one earned run on 5 hits. He walked a pair and fanned 6 batters.
Josh Edgin entered the game in relief, and recorded the final out of the 7th inning.
Miami’s Dan Jennings entered the game in the bottom of the 7th in relief of Chris Hatcher.
Reliever Vic Black entered the game with one out in the 8th inning.
Jeurys Familia closed out the game with a scoreless 9th inning.
Scoring Summary:
- Bottom 2nd inning – With two outs, Juan Lagares doubled. Ruben Tejada singled to score Lagares. Zack Wheeler then doubled to score Tejada all the way from first base for a 2-0 Mets lead.
- Bottom 3rd inning – With one out, David Wright singled. Lucas Duda then homered to deep right for a 4-0 Mets lead.
- Top 5th inning – With one out, Jarred Saltalamachia drew a walk. Adeiny Hechavarria singled. With two outs, Christian Yelich‘s single scored Saltalamachia to make it a 4-1 game.
- Bottom 5th inning – With one out, Daniel Murphy singled. David Wright’s 2-run home run gave Mets a 6-1 lead.
- Bottom 6th inning – Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a lead-off triple and scored on Juan Lagares’ base hit.
- Final Score: Marlins 1; METS 7
Highlights:
- I like Lucas Duda hitting fourth, and Travis d’Arnaud hitting fifth (for now).
- The Mets had their way against Henderson Alvarez. Miami’s hurler entered Friday’s game with a 2.27 ERA and exited with a 2.67 mark. The Mets roughed him up for 8 hits, 2 home runs, and 6 total runs in only 5 innings of work.
- Fine defensive plays from Nieuwenhuis, Tejada, d’Arnaud, Wheeler and Duda in the 4th helped preserve New York’s early 4-0 lead. Overall, the Mets played stellar defense this evening.
- Daniel Murphy collected hit #113 which tentatively leads the National League.
- David Wright – 4 for 4, home run, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored.
- Juan Lagares – 3 for 4, RBI.
- The Mets had 12 hits and drew no walks.
- Zack Wheeler improved his record to 5-8 on the season, and lowered his ERA from 4.07 to a 3.90 mark.
- The Mets are now 6-2 during this home stand.
Next:
7/12 Saturday, 4:10pm – Marlins @ METS
Tom Koehler (6-7) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-3)