MIAMI – Francisco Lindor homered twice, Jeff McNeil also went deep and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Monday night.
McNeil had three RBIs as the Mets split the four-game series against the National League’s worst team. New York (51-48) is 5-5 versus Miami (35-65) this season.
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“It’s not easy to hit them here, even pull side,” Lindor said. “It’s baseball. I guess the ball was flying for me. It was a good day.”
Mets starter David Peterson (5-0) permitted two runs and six hits in five innings. The left-hander walked four and struck out four.
“I felt I did some good things and some things that we’ll get better at,” said Peterson, who had not pitched since July 11. “You get back in your routine as quick as you can and get the second half rolling.”
José Buttó relieved Peterson and allowed one run over two innings. Phil Maton worked a perfect eighth, aided by a diving catch from center fielder Harrison Bader.
Down 6-3, the Marlins rallied against closer Edwin Díaz in the ninth, when Nick Gordon hit a one-out single and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked. Bryan De La Cruz followed with a dribbler that Díaz fielded, but he looked at second — where nobody was covering — before throwing soft and late to first, loading the bases.
Josh Bell grounded out, scoring Gordon and advancing Chisholm and De La Cruz as McNeil made a tough play at second base. Díaz retired Jake Burger on a popup for his 12th save in 17 tries.
“They created some traffic but he kept making pitches,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Díaz. “I liked how he continued to mix the fastball, the slider. He got the job done.”
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was ejected by plate umpire Rob Drake for arguing balls and strikes after the eighth inning.
“Rob’s a good umpire. He’s been around a long time,” Schumaker said. “It’s nothing personal. I just felt like he had to know what I felt.”
McNeil’s two-run shot in the second put the Mets ahead 2-0. He drove the first pitch from Marlins starter Yonny Chirinos (0-2) into the second deck of the right-field seats for his eighth homer and third of the series.
“I know the power’s there. Just kind of searching for some hits and abandoned that a little bit,” McNeil said. “There’s still a time and place for poke the ball the other way and put the ball in play. Different approaches for different times.”
The Marlins narrowed the gap on Vidal Bruján’s RBI double in the second before McNeil’s sacrifice fly and Lindor’s solo homer in the fourth made it 4-1.
New York padded its lead when Chirinos plunked Jose Iglesias with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Solo shots from Bell in the fifth and De La Cruz in the seventh got Miami within 5-3.
Lindor ended a string of 12 1/3 scoreless innings by Marlins relievers in the series when he connected off JT Chargois with another solo homer in the ninth.
Chirinos gave up five runs and nine hits with four walks in five innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: 3B Mark Vientos got the night off after getting hit on the helmet by an errant throw in Sunday’s game. Mendoza said Vientos cleared protocols and participated in baseball activities, but he felt it was appropriate to rest him Monday.
UP NEXT
Mets: LHP Jose Quintana (4-6, 4.13 ERA) starts the opener of a two-game Subway Series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. RHP Luis Gil (10-5, 3.17) pitches for the Yankees.
Marlins: Had not announced a starter for the opener of a three-game home series against Baltimore on Tuesday. RHP Albert Suárez (5-3, 2.82 ERA) goes for the Orioles.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb