Granderson Caps 9th-Inning Rally, Mets Sting Miami
NEW YORK (AP) — Slumping Curtis Granderson grounded an RBI single to cap an improbable two-run rally with two outs in the ninth inning that sent the New York Mets past the Miami Marlins 4-3 Friday night.
After Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Garrett Jones hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth to put the Marlins ahead 3-2, the Mets stung Miami closer Steve Cishek.
Cishek (1-1) had converted a team-record 33 straight save chances — the longest active streak in the majors — before Lucas Duda led off the ninth with a soft single and moved up on a sacrifice.
Left fielder Christian Yelich then made a nice running catch on pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu's liner for the second out. Omar Quintanilla followed with a single down the line and Yelich slipped on the dirt as he got ready to throw home, letting Duda score standing up.
Pinch-hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis doubled to put runners at second and third. Granderson stepped up, having gone 0 for 4 and with a .130 batting average, and grounded his game-winner past Jones at first base.
Granderson also hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the 14th inning Sunday against Atlanta.
Jeurys Familia (1-2) pitched a scoreless inning.
Yelich's hitting streak ended at 17 games, and the Marlins fell to 1-9 on the road.
Saltalamacchia homered two pitches after reliever Gonzalez Germen narrowly missed strike three, drawing groans from the crowd of 21,171 at Citi Field. Saltalamacchia then hit a shot to left-center and Jones followed with a drive off the right-field foul pole.
The Mets hadn't allowed any home runs since last Saturday, a span of 57 innings.
Young starters Zack Wheeler and Henderson Alvarez both pitched well.
Wheeler, a month before he turns 24, struck out 10 in six innings. He gave up four singles and walked three in six innings.
Wheeler showed off his repertoire when he fanned the side in the third, all on swinging strike three — he got Alvarez on a fastball, Yelich on a changeup and Marcell Ozuna on a curve.
A week past his 24th birthday, Alvarez gave up two runs in six innings. In his previous start, he pitched a two-hit shutout against Seattle.
David Wright hit an RBI single and scored on Daniel Murphy's double in the third to put the Mets ahead 2-0.
Ozuna hit an RBI single in the fifth that made it 2-1. With runners at the corners, Giancarlo Stanton flied out to deep right-center to end the inning.
NOTES: Marlins RHP Kevin Slowey (0-0, 4.15 ERA) is set to start Saturday night against RHP Jenrry Mejia (3-0, 1.99). ... Cishek had converted his first four save chances this season. ... In the last 11 games, no Mets starter has allowed more than three runs.
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