Gut Reaction: Mets 6, Marlins 2 (8/10/18)

The opening salvo of the Battle to Escape the Basement of the NL East was fired tonight down in Miami, and the New York Mets came out victorious over the Marlins 6-2.

The victory charge was led by starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, who was once again fantastic. This outing, Wheeler sliced his way through the Marlins, carving up eight of them while only walking one. He went seven strong innings, throwing a total of 108 pitches en route to lowering his ERA to 3.83. Wheeler has once again this season proved his worth to this rotation, and my Gut Reaction is that the often criticized starting rotation of the New York Mets, the one that we would all stay awake and think about at night, is finally coming to fruition. Once again, this rotation will become feared across baseball, dangerous enough to have Wheeler as their third pitcher.

The offense was there to provide for Wheeler, led by leadoff hitter Amed Rosario and resurgent center fielder Austin Jackson. Rosario set a good tone for the game, leading off by getting on base. The biggest inning was sparked in the top of the sixth however by Jackson. He struck a weak hit to the right side of the infield, which scored Michael Conforto, making the game 2-0. Later in the inning, Rosario again came up with a single, this time scoring two runs. It was a good day across the board for the lineup, as they scored by doing the little things at the plate.

With Wheeler coming out after seven innings, the game was left to the bullpen. Seth Lugo was handed the eighth inning, and he handled it with ease, tossing a clean inning. Perhaps having an easier outing was Jerry Blevins, who after throwing one pitch, was removed in favor of Drew Smith. Despite allowing a walk, Smith handled his inning and eventually closed the game out.

Following the win, the Mets will duel the Marlins once again at Suntrust Park. Corey Oswalt will battle against Dan Straily at 7:10 pm.