Marlins at Mets
The Miami Marlins came from three runs behind in the ninth inning to win Sunday and rallied twice a little more than 24 hours later after a slow start to seize a wild 6-5 victory. Miami looks to make things easier when it visits the New York Mets for the second of a three-game series on Tuesday. The Marlins, who boast a major league-best 34 one-run wins, kept their slim playoff hopes alive after pulling within six games of Pittsburgh for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
Their first eight batters struck out against New York’s Jacob deGrom Monday before the Marlins clawed back and received a key two-run single from Adeiny Hechavarria, who has hit safely in 13 of 14 September games. The Mets have dropped four of their last five games after winning seven of their previous eight. Veteran Bartolo Colon takes the mound in search of his 203rd career victory for New York against Nathan Eovaldi, who is winless in six starts.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET; FSN Florida (Miami), SNY (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Nathan Eovaldi (6-11, 4.29 ERA) vs. Mets RH Bartolo Colon (13-12, 4.14)
Eovaldi allowed four or more runs in four of his last six starts while losing five straight decisions in that span. The 24-year-old Texas native, who has not won since Aug. 8, boasts 131 strikeouts and only 38 walks in a career-high 182 1/3 innings. Daniel Murphy is 5-for-14 with two doubles and a homer against Eovaldi, who is 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA in six career starts versus the Mets.
Colon gave up six runs (five earned) and two homers in three innings his last start against Washington. The 41-year-old Dominican Republic native is 3-4 over his last seven starts and has permitted two runs or fewer in four games during that stretch. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 5-for-18 with a homer versus Colon, who yielded three runs over seven frames to take the loss against Miami on May 6.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York C Travis d’Arnaud boasts 17 hits in 45 at-bats during September with eight runs and eight RBIs in 12 games.
2. Miami CF Marcell Ozuna singled during the eighth-inning rally Monday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
3. Murphy had a pair of hits and an RBI in the series opener after going 2-for-18 in his previous five contests.