The Mets committed three errors and allowed five unearned runs as they failed to play a clean game in a 7-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday night at Citi Field.
New York fell to 72-62 on the season.
Here are the key takeaways…
– After Francisco Lindor singled to start the first, Pete Alonso smashed a double to the right-center gap on a ball that centerfielder Jakob Marsee nearly came up with for a sensational running grab, but it kicked off his glove. Marsee’s effort meant Lindor could only advance to third as he started to go back to tag up. But Brandon Nimmo capitalized by bouncing a two-RBI double down the first base line against a drawn-in infield off Marlins starter Adam Mazur.
– In the fifth, Alonso, with Juan Soto on first after his 108th walk of the season, got a 1-2 fastball up in the zone from reliever Lake Bachar and clobbered it to just left of center for a 425-foot two-run blast to level the score at four in the fifth. The no-doubter was the slugger's 30th of the season and gave him 108 RBI on the year.
– The bullpen got to work with the score tied and kept letting trouble find them. It started when Ryne Stanek walked the first two batters he faced, leading to a visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. After Dane Myers failed to get the bunt down, Stanek got him to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play before a flyout to right ended the threat.
Gregory Soto wasn’t so lucky in the seventh as he immediately had runners on first and second after a leadoff single up the middle and an error from Alonso when the ball popped out of his glove as he started the transfer to throw to second on a slow roller.
Agustin Ramirez then laced a Gregory Soto slider off Lindor's glove for a single, with a run coming around to score when Nimmo bobbled the ball for the second error of the inning. After a passed ball put both runners in scoring position, the lefty got a strikeout, but a broken-bat grounder to the left of Jeff McNeil plated another run as Liam Hicks just got his hand in ahead of Hayden Senger's tag.
Kevin Herget, recently recalled from Triple-A, entered with one out and runners on first and second, and allowed a sac fly to center and pop out to left to end the three-run Miami inning wth none earned.
Hergert needed just 11 pitches for a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout and pitched around a leadoff infield single for a scoreless ninth with a strikeout.
– Calvin Faucher came on to close the game in the ninth, getting pinch-hitter Starling Marte to fly out to center, Lindor swinging at a ball in the dirt, and Soto to ground out to second.
– Clay Holmes found himself in a spot of bother in the first with a one-out infield single followed by a single off the starter’s right foot that put runners on the corners. The righty limited the damage with a sac fly to the right-center gap and a 1-6-3 groundout on another ball that he deflected, this time off his glove.
After working around a two-out hit in the second, Holmes nicked the leadoff man on the foot with the first pitch of the third inning, Xavier Edwards quickly stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. Against the drawn-in infield, a slow tapper to second, Edwards scored to tie the game. On the play, McNeil should have thrown to first for the force, as he had no chance to get the speedy runner; his throw home was way late.
After a grounder to third put another man in scoring position, McNeil’s decision to throw home came around to hurt the Mets, as Alonso fielded a grounder, but his throw to first was a bit firm and surprised the covering Holmes, who dropped the ball, which rolled into foul territory, allowing another run to score and Troy Johnston to reach second. Otto Lopez took advantage with an RBI single to left to make it a three-run inning. Had McNeil simply flipped it to first and/or Holmes caught the ball, the damage would have just been one run.
Holmes issued a one-out walk in the fourth and a two-out single in the fifth, and with his pitch count at 88 (54 strikes), his night was done after just recording 15 outs. His final line: four runs (two earned), five hits, one walk, two strikeouts.
– It was not the night for some Mets who entered swinging hot bats: Mark Vientos, 15-for-38 with a 1.416 OPS his last 10 games, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts (0-for-1 RISP). Brett Baty, 18-for-50 with a 1.058 OPS in his last 15 games, struck out swinging twice as he went 1-for-4 (0-for-1 RISP). And Juan Soto, 13 RBI and a .915 OPS in his last 16 games, went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
Lindor finished the night 3-for-5 with three singles. Alonso went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nimmo finished 1-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout.
As a team, the Mets managed just seven hits while striking out 10 times with three walks (a HBP) and went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.
– The bottom of the order didn't provide a punch, either: Cedric Mullins finished 0-for-3 with a walk, and had a bloop hit to center robbed from him with a runner on first and two down in the eighth when defensive replacement Derek Hill made a diving catch. McNeil went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. (0-for-1 RISP) and Senger went down looking in his first at-bat, but got a chance with runners on the corners and two down in the fourth, but he popped out to left field. He finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Highlights
Brandon Nimmo with a 2-run double to give the Mets a 2-1 lead in the 1st! pic.twitter.com/SsvtlkPL34
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 28, 2025
Pete Alonso's 30th homer of the season ties the game at 4-4! pic.twitter.com/r3IBFHSs0V
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2025
Upcoming schedule
The Mets and Marlins continue the four-game set on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
Jonah Tong will make his highly anticipated MLB debut for the home team. He's pitched to a 1.43 ERA and 0.924 WHIP with 179 strikeouts across 113.2 innings in the minors this year. The visitors are sending up their 6-foot-8 right-hander Eury Perez (3.44 ERA, 0.976 WHIP in 70.2 innings) for his 15th start of the campaign.
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