MIAMI (AP) — With New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom coming off a one-hit shutout, Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez geared up for a pitching duel Saturday night.
“Jose knows he has Jacob on the other side of the field capable of throwing zeroes all night,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
DeGrom didn’t blank Miami for long, however. He failed to make it out of the fourth inning, and Fernandez and the Marlins beat the Mets 7-2.
DeGrom (6-5) allowed 10 hits and five runs, both season highs, and lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his shortest outing since August.
“I wasn’t very good,” deGrom said. “Seemingly everything I threw went down the middle, and I paid for it.”
Giancarlo Stanton homered and had his first four-hit game since 2012, driving in three runs to give Fernandez (12-4) all the support he needed.
Fernandez gave up two runs in seven innings to match his career high for victories, achieved in his 2013 rookie season. He also had two hits, hiking his average to .265, and drove in the first run.
“Even when I was at the plate, I was ready to do whatever it takes to win this game,” Fernandez said. Nothing unusual there — he improved to 26-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 37 starts at Marlins Park.
Home Run Derby winner Stanton put Miami ahead to stay in the third inning when he hit a majestic two-run homer off the left-field scoreboard above the 401-foot sign. He added an RBI single in the fourth, and singled in the first and sixth, hiking his average to .241 after a prolonged slump.
When asked what he saw from Stanton, deGrom answered with a frown.
“I saw him hit a ball pretty far over the wall,” deGrom said.
The right-hander allowed at least two baserunners in every inning he worked, and his ERA rose to 2.73.
“He didn’t have command of any of his pitches,” manager Terry Collins said. “There were a lot of balls in the middle of the plate, and a lot of balls up. Very uncharacteristic, but you know it happens.”
DeGrom was throwing only in the low 90s in his final inning, several notches below his norm.
“He was probably tired,” Collins said. “Those were stressful innings from the start to when he came out of the game, but no I’m not concerned.”
DeGrom’s best moment came at the plate, where he doubled to lead off the third, his first extra-base hit since July 2015. He scored on a single by Yoenis Cespedes, and James Loney’s sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2-1 lead.
But that was all they managed against Fernandez. He hit 99 mph in the first inning, and his final pitch was a 98-mph fastball to Cespedes for strike three.
Christian Yelich led off the Miami third with a single, and Stanton dented the scoreboard with a homer that landed between the words BALLS and STRIKES.
“I didn’t break any lights,” Stanton said, “so that was good.”
Stanton went 3 for 3 versus deGrom. Yelich and Adeiny Hechavarria had two hits apiece against the Mets starter.
“Guys did a really good job with deGrom battling him and making him throw a bunch of pitches,” Mattingly said. “We’ve been good with those type of guys. It’s the soft-tossing guys we’ve had a lot of trouble with.”
SUZUKI UPDATE
Miami’s Ichiro Suzuki grounded out as a pinch hitter to end the eighth and remained four hits shy of 3,000.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: 1B Lucas Duda (back) visited the team, took swings for the first time since his injury and said he hopes to be ready for a rehab assignment in a couple of weeks. “I feel good. I’m progressing on the right track,” said Duda, who hasn’t faced pitching yet.
UP NEXT
LHP Steven Matz (7-6, 3.56) is scheduled to start Sunday for the Mets in the rubber game of the series against RHP Jose Urena (1-1, 6.23). Matz is 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA in three career starts against Miami.
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