Francisco Lindor hits two homers as Mets split series with Marlins

MIAMI — The New York Mets opened the second half of the 2024 season with a chance to gain some ground in the NL East against the lowly Miami Marlins. There was some good baseball and some bad, with the Amazins’ ultimately splitting a four-game series.

Jeff McNeil homered for the third time in the series and Francisco Lindor hit two to help the Mets defeat the Marlins, 6-4, in the series finale at LoanDepot Park.

Lindor’s second home run came at the right time, giving the Mets an insurance run in the top of the ninth. JT Chargois threw him a belt high-slider on a 1-0 count and Lindor put it into the left field seats to lead off the inning and up his total to 19 on the season.

Closer Edwin Diaz loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, struggling with command. Diaz had a play at first when Bryan De La Cruz hit a grounder right to him, but checked the runner at third and hesitated too long. De La Cruz tagged safely.

McNeil then went deep in the hole to make a fantastic sliding stop on a sharp grounder by Josh Bell, but he bobbled the ball and wasn’t able to turn a double play. Nick Gordon scored to cut the deficit to two runs.

But Diaz got Jake Burger to pop up to McNeil at second base, ending the game and converting the save (12).

Lindor’s first homer of the game came off right-hander Yonny Chirinos in the fourth. Up 2-1, Jose Iglesias led off with a triple and a flyball by McNeil drove him home. After Harrison Bader was caught trying to steal second base for the second out, Lindor took Chirinos deep to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.

The Mets loaded the bases on Chirinos twice in the fifth but managed only one run, with Chirinos practically gift-wrapping it by hitting Iglesias with a pitch to score Miami native J.D. Martinez.

Chirinos was charged with five earned runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out four over five innings (0-2).

Mets left-hander David Peterson had a similar line. In his first start since the birth of his second child, Peterson (5-0) went five innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, striking out four and walking four. The walks were an issue he mostly managed to get around. Xavier Edwards was walked with one out in the second and came around to score on a two-out double by Vidal Brujan, but Brujan was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple, getting Peterson out of trouble.

In the fourth, he walked Brujan to load the bases, but induced a groundball to Ali Sanchez to end the inning.

Bell took Peterson deep in the fifth, with the slugger connecting on a 1-1 changeup with two outs. Burger doubled to extend the inning before Peterson struck out Otto Lopez.

That was the end for the lefty. Right-hander Jose Butto took over and pitched a scoreless sixth before giving up a solo homer to De La Cruz in the seventh. It was the first earned run allowed by Butto since moving to the bullpen earlier this month.

All things considered, the Mets (51-48) played fine over the weekend against the Fish (35-65). However, “fine” might not be good enough for a playoff spot. They return to New York next to face two tough opponents in the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves.

____