Wins Becoming Hard To Come By For Marlins
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – The Miami Marlins are running out of time to start stringing wins together and climb back into the playoff race, and things won't get any easier on Wednesday.
Jacob deGrom's case for NL Rookie of the Year is largely built on his success at home, but the venue hasn't made much of a difference against the Marlins.
DeGrom seeks another strong performance versus the Marlins on Wednesday night to help the New York Mets conclude this three-game set with back-to-back wins.
DeGrom (7-6, 2.94 ERA) would be the first Mets pitcher to win rookie of the year since Dwight Gooden in 1984, and he certainly looked the part of someone in the running by allowing one unearned run in seven innings of Friday's 4-1 win over Philadelphia.
Much of deGrom's success has come at home. He's won four straight starts at Citi Field behind a 0.95 ERA, and his 1.68 mark in eight home starts is far better than the 4.07 he's posted while going 3-3 over 10 road games.
He had arguably his best outing as a visitor in Miami on June 21, striking out seven Marlins over five innings of a 4-0 win. He beat the Marlins again July 12 by yielding one run while fanning eight in seven innings of a 9-1 victory.
"He's unfazed," manager Terry Collins told MLB's official website. "He just goes out and does the best he can."
Collins would like to see more of the same out of New York's bats, which pounded out 16 hits in Tuesday's 8-6 win. The Mets (65-74) had hit .202 while averaging 3.4 runs over the previous seven games.
Juan Lagares was 3 for 20 over that stretch, but he went 4 for 4 with one double, three runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases Tuesday. The center fielder is 10 for 22 (.455) with three doubles and five RBIs in his past five meetings with Miami (67-70).
David Wright owns a .396 average with 19 RBIs in the last 22 games against the Marlins after getting three hits and driving in three runs Tuesday. The third baseman is 6 for 16 (.375) against scheduled starter Tom Koehler.
While the Mets are virtually out of playoff contention, the Marlins are 5 1/2 games back of Milwaukee for the NL's second wild-card spot.
Giancarlo Stanton is doing his part, collecting three hits in this series with two leaving the park. The right fielder's two-run shot Tuesday was his NL-leading 35th, two shy of his career high set in 2012. His 101 RBIs are a personal best and lead the majors.
"This guy has been locked in and feeling good," manager Mike Redmond said. "The last couple of days the swings have been great and he's been focused. I know he probably doesn't think about the 100 RBIs but to see the way he's playing at crunch time, it's fun."
Koehler (9-9, 3.79) takes the mound with a 1.82 ERA in six home meetings against the Mets, including four starts. However, he has only a 1-2 record to show for it since he's been backed by three total runs.
The right-hander didn't get any support opposite deGrom on June 21, when he allowed two runs in seven innings.
Koehler has surrendered runs in just one inning in each of his last five starts, going 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA. That trend continued Friday with five scoreless innings before he gave up two runs in the sixth while failing to get a decision in a 5-2 loss at Atlanta.
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