The New York Mets began turning around their season with a dramatic win over the Miami Marlins on June 13.
Two months later, the skidding Mets might need a similar jolt Friday night, when they host the Marlins in the opener of a three-game series.
Left-hander Sean Manaea (8-5, 3.44 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Marlins right-hander Roddery Munoz (2-6, 5.67).
Both teams will be trying to bounce back from frustrating defeats.
The Mets on Thursday dropped the decisive game of a three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics, who overcame a five-run deficit to earn a 7-6 victory.
The Marlins were off Thursday after squandering a three-run lead Wednesday night in a 9-5 loss to the host Philadelphia Phillies.
New York's loss was doubly discouraging as the Mets missed a chance to inch closer to the Atlanta Braves with the teams battling for the final National League wild-card berth. The Mets remained two games back after the Braves' 6-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants later Thursday afternoon.
The Mets have climbed back into the race by going 33-22 since June 13 -- the best record in the NL East and the fourth-best record in the majors. On that date, J.D. Martinez hit his first career walk-off homer, a two-run shot that gave New York a 3-2 victory over the Marlins.
However, the Mets have lost five of their past six games, a span in which they were outscored 39-20. The Mets led 5-0 after three innings on Thursday but went just 1-for-10 with runners on base the rest of the game.
"Something we talked about is that we got here by playing with no pressure -- we were supposed to lose, so let's just go have fun," Martinez said Thursday afternoon. "One of those things (where it) kind of just snowballed and all of a sudden, we get to this point where we make a couple trades and we're in it. And now it's just a little bit more pressure, especially when you get into August."
A 6-24 start all but ruined the Marlins' playoff hopes by the end of April. However, Miami has impacted the postseason race over the past five-plus weeks, a span in which it's gone 13-18 while playing almost exclusively against contenders -- including the Mets, who split a four-game series in Florida immediately after the All-Star break.
The Marlins opened the two-game set against the Phillies with a 5-0 win on Tuesday, then scored three first-inning runs on Wednesday before the NL East leaders stormed back. Miami had just two hits after the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber belted a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth.
"We scored five runs against a really good team," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. "Their bullpen was outstanding tonight -- shut us down, gave them a chance to jump back in, which they did. And that's why they're one of the best, if not the best, teams in the National League."
Manaea took a loss on Saturday when he allowed three runs over a season-low three innings as the Mets fell to the Seattle Mariners 4-0. He is 1-2 with a 5.85 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins, including 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA in two starts this season.
Munoz didn't factor into the decision on Saturday after giving up three runs over five innings in the Marlins' 9-8, 10-inning loss to the San Diego Padres.
The rookie is 0-1 despite an 0.82 ERA in two starts against the Mets, the only team he's faced more than once. He fired six scoreless innings of one-hit ball in a no-decision on June 13 in New York, then turned in five innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss on July 20 in Miami.
--Field Level Media