Fernandez racks up 14 K's in Marlins' 1-0 win
MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez matched his career high with 14 strikeouts and won a pitching duel against Matt Harvey as the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Mets 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.
Fernandez (9-2), who threw 100 pitches, including 73 for strikes, pitched seven scoreless innings for his eighth win in his past eight starts. He allowed four hits and no walks.
The only time Fernandez encountered even mild trouble was the first inning when Curtis Granderson hit a two-out double.
Fernandez, who has a 2.29 ERA, retired the next 15 batters in a row, striking out the side in the fourth.
During that stretch, New York's Michael Conforto hit a blast to right field in the fifth inning, but Ichiro Suzuki extended fully to make a running catch on the warning track.
The Mets did threaten in Fernandez's final inning, getting runners on the corners with two outs. But Fernandez struck out Wilmer Flores swinging.
It was Fernandez's final pitch of the day and he knew it, gesturing with a mix of defiance, excitement and satisfaction.
Harvey (4-8) was nearly as good, allowing four hits, no walks and one run in seven innings. He struck out three and lowered his ERA from 5.37 to 4.95.
The only extra-base hit against Harvey was a double by Derek Dietrich in the fifth.
That's when Harvey had his 11-inning scoreless streak snapped. Dietrich drilled a high fastball on a 2-2 count off the wall in right field and then scored on a ground single to center field by J.T. Realmuto.
The Marlins (30-27) salvaged one game in the three-game series against the Mets (31-24).
A.J. Ramos picked up his 18th consecutive save to start the season, tying a club record. He ended the game by getting Neil Walker to fly out to the warning track in center.
Fernandez, though, was the story. He broke Ricky Nolasco's franchise record with his 14th game with at least 10 strikeouts. Fernandez also tied Chris Hammond's Marlins record with his eighth straight win.
NOTES: Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton was not in the starting lineup, replaced by Ichiro Suzuki. Stanton hit .173 in May and is at .071 so far in June. Suzuki hit .333 in April and .316 in May. ... The Marlins optioned RHP Cody Hall to Triple-A New Orleans and recalled RHP Brian Ellington from the same team. ... Mets CF Juan Lagares (thumb) and LF Yoenis Cespedes (hip) were out of the starting lineup. ... Mets C Travis d'Arnaud, on the disabled list since April 26 with an elbow injury, could return in about three weeks. He is not throwing yet, but he is serving as a DH in a minor league rehab stint. ... Mets 1B Lucas Duda, on the DL since May 23 with a back injury, has yet to begin baseball activities. He is likely out through the rest of the month.