Mother Nature Wreaks Havoc At Citi Field As Marlins-Mets Suspended
After the Miami Marlins-New York Mets game was postponed Tuesday due to an unplayable field (doubleheader Wednesday), Mother Nature had more plans on Thursday night that could end up affecting the Marlins push for a postseason berth. With Miami leading 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning, the tarp was put on the field.
David Peterson. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Since the game needed to be finished due to there being postseason implications for the Marlins, the two teams waited and waited and waited. After over a three-hour rain delay, MLB made the decision to suspend the game.
If Miami still needs the game for a playoff spot, it is possible that the game might have to be resumed Monday at Citi Field at 1:10 p.m ET.
Marlins will finish their game with the Mets in New York Monday at 1:10 EST if necessary.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) September 29, 2023
They currently hold the third Wild Card spot in the National League with a 1/2 game lead over the Cubs. They are 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks for the second Wild Card.
What gets lost in all of the rain was the great pitchers duel between southpaws Jesús Luzardo and David Peterson. Peterson ended up having his best outing of the season and got a no-decision to show for it.
The Marlins rare chance against Peterson came in the fifth when they loaded the bases with two outs. The left-hander was able to get out of trouble when Jon Berti hit into a fielder’s choice. Initially, the call on the field was that Bryan De La Cruz scored before Xavier Edwards was out at second, but the call ended up being overturned.
On the night, Peterson went seven scoreless innings, allowed four hits, walked four, and struck out eight on 113 pitches (66 strikes). He was able to use his sinker to get eight groundball outs. The left-hander has struck out seven or more in five of his last six starts and turned his season around after being called back up in mid-June.
David Peterson's season…
When he got demoted to the minors in mid-May: 8.08 ERA in eight starts.
Since being called back up in late June: 3.38 ERA in 19 games (13 starts). https://t.co/DeTbjXQ15H
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 29, 2023
Meanwhile, the Mets could not get much going against Luzardo. The only extra-base hit against him was a Tim Locastro double in the third. The slider was fooling Mets hitters all night as the southpaw went 7 1/3 innings, allowed one run on four hits, walked a batter, and struck out ten on 96 pitches (63 strikes) in his outing.
The Mets were finally able to crack the code in the bottom of the eighth. Brett Baty led off the inning with a single and Locastro advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Miami would go to Andrew Nardi to face Rafael Ortega, who was in the game due to Brandon Nimmo exiting after the fourth inning.
Ortega ended up delivering an RBI single to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, his eighth RBI of the year. It looked like that run was going to hold up, but the bullpen could not get the job done.
As for Nimmo, it sounds like his season will be over after his injury.
Brandon Nimmo has an AC joint issue in his right shoulder. He'll have an MRI tomorrow to determine if there is "any rotator damage," per Buck Showalter.
Sounds like Nimmo is likely done for the season.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 29, 2023
Grant Hartwig threw a acoreless eighth inning and was sent back out for the ninth. After a single by De La Cruz and a Garrett Hampson strikeout, Buck Showalter called on Anthony Kay to get the final two outs. However, a wild pitch, an RBI double by Jazz Chisholm Jr., and an RBI single by Yuli Gurriel gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead.
Player Of The Game
David Peterson was the obvious choice here as he was able to complete seven innings for the second time this year (August 27 against the Angels). The 113 pitches thrown is a season-high and the second time he has thrown 110+ pitches in an outing (June 27 against the Brewers). The key for Peterson was his sinker, which got 18 called strikes+whiffs according to Baseball Savant.
On Deck
The Mets will begin their final series of the regular season on Friday night when they take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. You can watch the game on SNY at 7:10 p.m ET. RHP Tylor Megill (8-8, 4.92 ERA) will take the ball for the Mets against RHP Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.35) for the Phillies. It is a rematch of last Friday night’s matchup in Philadelphia where both starters had quality start in no-decisions.
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